There has been a major victory for same-sex couples looking to tie the knot in South Africa, after the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) passed a rule which forbids religious and administrative officials from refusing to perform a ceremony if they ‘conscientiously object’ to gay marriage. The effect of this Bill is to remove the “conscientious objection clause” in section 6 of the Civil Union Act. This will mean that State marriage officers and magistrates must marry same-sex couples, even if it goes against religious or personal beliefs which disagree with the marital union of homosexual partners.