South Africa approves same-sex marriage

Over the summer, Canada became the fourth country to legalize same-sex marriage -- a great milestone in Canadian history. Now South Africa has (almost) done the same:

South Africa's highest court ruled on Thursday that gays and lesbians have a right to marry, and it gave the national parliament one year to change the words "husband" and "wife" to "spouse" in its marital laws.

Under the ruling, which was greeted by jubilation by gays and lesbians and frustration by some church leaders, South Africa will become the first African nation and the fifth in the world to extend full marital rights to same-sex couples.

Compare that to the anti-gay movement in the United States.

Andrew Sullivan responds: "Who would have guessed twenty years ago that the land of apartheid would now be ahead of the United States in its support for civil rights and equal protection of laws?"

The world is indeed a strange place. Well done, South Africa.