Fenech Adami: marriage equality law a ‘victory for love’ but new PN MP dubs it ‘Marxist’

Outgoing PN deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami hailed the Marriage Equality Bill as a “victory for love and tolerance” in a passionate speech in which he admitted that previous PN administrations had failed to understand the reality of LGBT+ people.

Fenech Adami said that he will vote in favour of the Bill – which will grant same-sex people the right to marry – because it is one in favour of love and in tandem with his Christian values in favour of the common good and public order.

“As Christians, we must make decisions in favur of the common good and public order, and as politicians we have the duty to legislate to accommodate changes in society and therefore prevent public disorder,” he said. “There are hundreds, if not thousands, of homosexual couples out there and they need full legal protection. For many years, these people suffered injustices that could have been avoided had we – myself included –shown more compassion and listened to them more.”

The second reading of the Bill – which will grant same-sex people the right to marry – is being debated in Parliament and a vote will be taken later on. The Bill will be debated at parliament’s committee stage on Thursday and will pass into law before Parliament convenes for summer recess.

Hermann Schiavonne said he will consider viewing marriage as solely between a man and a woman

However, Nationalist MP Hermann Schiavone ripped into Bill, describing it as a “Marxist and communist” law intended to introduce uniformity instead of equality.

In his speech, Schiavone said that he will continue to view marriage as solely between a man and a woman, even after the Bill passes into the law.

“No law can change the way I view marriage, but I respect people who want other forms of marriage,” he said.

He lambasted the Bill’s proposal to abolish the terms ‘mother’, ‘father’, ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ from certain articles of Maltese law, in favour of the gender-neutral terms ‘parent’ and ‘spouse’.

“These proposed amendments aren’t promoting diversity or equality but uniformity,” he said. “This is a communist and Marxist law, because it is those ideologies that preach that everyone should be the same.”

He urged the government to take the Opposition’s proposals on board at committee stage– namely to retain the terms   ‘mother’, ‘father’, ‘husband’ and ‘wife’, while adding the terms ‘parent’ and ‘spouse’.

Opposition MP Carm Mifsud Bonnici warned that the removal of the terms ‘mother’ and ‘father’ will go against Maltese culture and will be met with anger by a large segment of the population.

“We are a population that considers the mother as sacred, as can be seen even in our neolithic temples,” he said. “I aprreicate that some Nordic countries have different ideas and cultures, but my experience has shown me that what makes sense in other countries doesn’t always make sense in ours.

“Removing the names ‘mother’ and ‘father’ from the law is a wrong move in principle, and from what I have seen and heard, people are strongly resisting this proposal.”

He questioned why the Labour government rushed through this Bill, instead of following the footsteps of the UK which had introduced gay marriage in 2013 after a year of public consultation and without removing the words ‘man’ and ‘woman’ from the law.

He argued that former French president Francois Hollande had faced mass demonstrations after proposing similar nomenclauture as has been proposed by the Labour government, and that his Socialist Party has now been left in tatters.

Equality minister Helena Dalli is spearheading the Marriage Equality Bill

Dalli: ‘Opposition should be ashamed for its ridiculous arguments’

Equality minister Helena Dalli accused Opposition MPs – including whip David Agius - for sinking Parliament to “historically low levels” by using ridiculous arguments, such as that the law could end up abolishing Mothers’ Day.

“You should be ashamed of yourself for using such ridiculous arguments, and I am sorry for all those people hearing such idiocies and genuinely believing them,” she said. “Shame on you, shame on you, shame on you.”

Indeed, she said that she has received letters from concerned flower sellers and restaurant owners, warning that her “decision to remove Mothers’ Day” will damage their businesses.

“The Opposition has no proper arguments against this law, so it has resorted to repeating lies and confusion,” she said. “Irrespectively of which way it votes, it will once again go down in history as doing its utmost to hinder equality.”

Dalli said that the PN is trying to run with the hares and hunt with the hounds, by trying to appease both the liberal and the conservative factions within its party.

“When it comes to equality, you either believe in it or you don’t. You cannot sit on the fence."

She said that the PN's opposition to the wording of the law proves that it is "still living fifty years in the past", despite presenting a liberal-looking manifesto. 

Moreover, she noted that the Embryo Protection Law - introduced by the last PN government - allready includes the terms 'prospective parents' and not 'mothers' and 'fathers'.

"Going by the PN's arguments, children born through IVF aren't able to call their mothers mothers or their fathers fathers, and won't be able to celebrate Mothers' Day and Fathers' Day."