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 CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) - South Africa on Thursday became the first country in Africa, and only the fifth in the world, to legalize same sex marriages.
The Civil Union Act goes into effect a day ahead of a Dec. 1 deadline set by the country's Constitutional Court, which required the marriage law be changed to ensure equality for gay and lesbians.
Gay rights groups have welcomed the law, although they criticized provisions allowing clergy and civil marriage officers to turn away gay couples if their consciences prevented them from marrying them.
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