Former MP urges PN to grant free vote on Marriage Equality bill

Former MP Antoine Borg has urged the Nationalist Party to allow its parliamentary group a free vote, as parliament is today set to vote on proposals to amend the Marriage Act.

Borg joins former PN MP Tonio Fenech and other exponents of the Nationalist Party who have been publicly urging the party to grant a free vote, arguing that it was also a matter of conscience.

“Today Parliament will vote on amendments to Marriage act. In view of what this has turned out to be – I renew my appeal to the PN to grant a free vote, according to one's conscience, to its MPs,” Borg wrote on Facebook today.

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Critics of the legislation have stated that there should be no reason as to why the amendments should remove the terms “husband” and “wife” or “mother” and “father”, insisting that neutral terms should be added to the Act as opposed to replacing gender specific terminology.

The Malta Gay Rights Movement has described the amendments as being the “logical solution”.

“If the law is to reflect the fact that married couples can be composed of heterosexual, bisexual, gay, lesbian, cisgender, transgender, intersex or gender queer individuals or any combination of these then the use of gender neutral terms is the simplest and most logical solution,” MGRM coordinator Gabi Calleja said.