Parliament’s Home Affairs Committee chairperson Patrick Chauke says he will not allow his religious beliefs to interfere with the way he and his committee deal with draft legislation on gay civil unions.

Chauke was speaking outside parliament on Saturday, after receiving a memorandum from several thousand Christians who had marched through Cape Town's city centre to protest against the Civil Union Bill. A report on the News24 site says the Home Affairs Committee was scheduled to begin countrywide public hearings on the Bill with a meeting in Soweto tomorrow (Tuesday), but Chauke said this might not happen as planned. The Bill may be the first piece of non-financial legislation to be subject to a first reading debate in the National Assembly, in terms of a resolution taken last week. Chauke said this might impact on the programme for the public hearings.
Full report on the News24 site