Parliament this evening approved the introduction of gay marriage through the new Marriage Equality Act with Nationalist MP Edwin Vassallo voting against.

Malta became the 15th EU state to introduce same-sex marriage, just six years after the introduction of divorce.

Clarifying his vote, Mr Vassallo said he could not reconcile his principles with a Bill that was "immoral".

Photo: Sarah Carabott

Although he agreed that the state and church should be separate, he said he was a Christian and could not abandon his religious beliefs on parliament's doorstep.

All other MPs voted in favour.

Earlier, the Prime Minister had said that this was a historic moment and invited all

MPs to stand up and declare their vote. This proposal was not taken up by the Opposition, and a vote viva voce was taken.

Video: Mark Zammit Cordina

Dr Muscat said the vote showed that society had reached "an unprecedented level of maturity. We can all say we are equal."

In a statement, the government said that the aim of the law was to modernise marriage law through the mainstreaming of equality for all.This means that the institution of marriage is now fully gender neutral to ensure that lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, and genderqueer (LGBTIQ) persons are free to contract a marriage with their loved ones, be they of the same or a different sex, and also to parent children without having unnecessary references to their gender or biological make-up on their children’s birth certificates.

The institution of marriage was now fully gender neutral to ensure that lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, and genderqueer persons were free to contract a marriage with their loved ones, be they of the same or a different sex, and also to parent children without having unnecessary references to their gender or biological make-up on their children’s birth certificates.

It also meant that all discrepancies between husband and wife had now been removed. Both were now free to adopt or take on their partner’s surname without distinction. Their siblings would then take on the family surname that the couple chose on their marriage day.

During the process towards the adoption of the Bill, a lot of the discussion centred on whether it was necessary to convert civil marriage to a fully gender-neutral institution.

The government insisted that this was necessary to respect the anti-discrimination provisions in the country’s Constitution adopted in 2014 relative to sexual orientation and gender identity.

Additionally, the government indicated that both the Civil Unions Act, and the Cohabitation Act adopted in 2014 and 2016 respectively were both gender neutral, and that marriage should not be an exception.

As the vote was being taken, people gathered at Castille Square, where the stage was set for celebrations. Auberge de Castille was later lit up in rainbow colours and sported the words "We made history" as fireworks lit the sky.

Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi, Reuters

Those gathered cheered as Dr Muscat and Civil Rights Minister Helena Dalli approached Castille just before 9pm.

In a statement, the Nationalist Party said it welcomed this evening's vote as a step forward towards equality in Maltese society. It said the PN parliamentary group voted in favour of the law at all stages as Opposition leader Simon Busuttil had said.

Dr Busuttil thanked PN MPs for their vote and loyalty to the party.

"I understand there were a number of MPs who had objections to parts of the law but who still voted in favour in loyalty to the party's position and for the sake of party unity. I appreciate this and thank them for it."

The PN had been updating its policy to better reflect Maltese society today for the past years and had even voted in favour of the Gender Identity Bill.

It noted that although the law approved today had introduced the possibility of marriage between same-sex couples, this right has in practice been in existence for the past three years when civil unions were introduced.

Photo: Sarah Carabott

In another statement, the Labour Party said this was another historic day for Malta.

From a country that was considered behind in civil rights up to only a few years ago, it had now become a beacon of hope and an example to other countries.

Love had won over intolerance, equality over segregation. Above all, Malta had won as it was giving all its people, whoever they were and whatever their beliefs, independently of their sexual orientation, the same opportunities.

A government led by Dr Muscat, it said, would continue working for equality to really become the country's foundation leaving behind a legacy for future generations.

"This is the best time for our country," it said.</s>The tiny island of Malta, which only began allowing divorce in 2011, has passed a bill allowing same sex unions.

Despite it's predominantly Catholic make-up, Malta has become something of a beacon for progressive views on GLBT issues in the region.</s>Malta says yes to same-sex marriage

People celebrate after the Maltese parliament voted to legalise same-sex marriage on the Roman Catholic Mediterranean island, in Valletta, Malta July 12, 2017. — Reuters pic VALLETTA (Malta), July 13 — Malta’s parliament voted yesterday to allow same-sex couples to marry, three years after passing a law permitting civil partnerships in the overwhelmingly Catholic country.

Lawmakers gave near-unanimous approval to the bill, which represents a major step for LGBT rights on the island, which legalised divorce only in 2011 and where abortion is outlawed.

Malta, the EU’s smallest nation, becomes the bloc’s 15th member to legalise same-sex unions.

The vote was one of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s first actions following his election victory last month.

“It’s a historic vote. This shows that our democracy and society have reached a level of maturity and we can now say that we are all equal,” he said after the text was passed.

The Catholic church was solidly opposed to the bill but gay rights activists on Wednesday hailed the result, rallying outside the premier’s office in downtown Valetta.

The facade of the building was lit in rainbow colours and the slogan: “We’ve made history”.

All but one lawmaker supported the new law, which will now open the door for same-sex couples to adopt. Previously this was possible only if one person applied rather than as a couple.

Though Malta scores relatively well in European-wide freedom indexes, society in the tiny Mediterranean island is still influenced by religion.

A major bone of contention ahead of the vote was a change in legal jargon to replace terms such as husband, wife, mother and father with more gender-neutral phrasing such as partner or parent.

On Tuesday evening, opponents of the measure held a silent vigil outside parliament, but Wednesday’s vote was hailed by many commenters on social media.

“Now I’m proud to be a dad who can tell my boys that whoever they are and whoever they love, they can still call Malta home,” said one Twitter user.

Since gay unions were approved in 2014, 141 couples have taken advantage of the partnerships, while 22 others who had gotten married outside the country had registered their unions.

The Netherlands was the first European country to legalise same-sex marriage, in 2001, with the most recent being Germany on June 30 after a surprising shift on the issue by Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Gay marriage has also been approved in Canada and the United States, and in four South American countries, though it remains illegal in most of Africa and Asia. — AFP</s>MALTA has voted to legalise same-sex marriage in parliament, with only one of the country’s 67 parliamentarians voting against the amendment.

The country’s marriage act will be changed to replace words such as “husband” and “wife” with the gender-neutral “spouse”.

In a report by the BBC, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said it was a historic vote.

“This shows that our democracy and society have reached a level of maturity and we can now say that we are equal,” he said.

Equality advocates in Australia have welcomed the news, saying the recent change in Malta helps to highlight how straightforward achieving marriage equality can be.

“If marriage equality can occur in Catholic Malta, Australia has no excuses,” said just.equal spokesperson Rodney Croome.

“The lesson for Australia from Malta, and from Germany a few days ago, is that marriage equality can be achieved through parliament without the need for a costly and divisive plebiscite.”

Malta has become the 15th nation in the EU and the 25th in the world to allow same-sex couples to marry.

It comes just weeks after Taiwan and Germany legalised same-sex marriage.</s>The Maltese Parliament has voted in favour of Marriage equality.

The country's Prime Minister says it shows Malta has reached an unprecedented level of maturity.

It's the 15th EU member state to allow same sex marriage - just six years after it allowed divorce.</s>A bill that would extend marriage rights to same-sex couples in Malta received final approval on Wednesday.

Lawmakers approved the Marriage Equality Bill by a 66-1 vote margin. The vote took place a week after the Maltese Parliament nearly unanimously approved the Marriage Equality Bill.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who was re-elected last month, is among those who support the measure.

“Marriage equality is now reality in Malta,” said Muscat on his Twitter page shortly after the bill passed. “Pledge fulfilled. Future sealed.”

The Malta Gay Rights Movement on its Twitter page noted Wednesday’s vote caps off efforts to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples that began 16 years ago. ILGA-Europe Executive Director Evelyne Paradis in a statement applauded local advocates and the Maltese government.

“This step is the icing on the cake of the tremendous work by the Maltese LGBTI movement,” she said. “We congratulate the Maltese government for sticking to its commitments. We applaud everyone who has been working on this. To see equal marriage supported by practically the entire parliament is amazing.”

The Malta Independent, a newspaper in the small archipelago that is located in the Mediterranean Sea between Sicily and the North African coast, reported roughly 150 people gathered outside the Maltese Parliament on Tuesday to protest the bill. The Roman Catholic Church also opposed the measure.

Gays and lesbians can legally marry in Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, the Isle of Man, Guernsey, France, Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland.

A law that allows trans Maltese to, among other things, legally change their name or gender without undergoing a sex-reassignment surgery or hormone therapy and provides legal protections to intersex children took effect in 2015. Malta last December became the first country in Europe to ban so-called conversion therapy.

The marriage bill is expected to take effect later this month.</s>“We live in a society where we can all say ‘we are equal,’” Mr. Muscat said as a celebration erupted outside his office in Valletta, the capital.

The law’s passage is the latest evidence of the transformation of Malta, a once-conservative nation of about 440,000 people where divorce was illegal until 2011.

While abortion remains banned in Malta, adoption by same-sex couples has been legal since civil unions were introduced in 2014. Last year, the number of exclusively civil marriages eclipsed the number of church weddings for the first time.

Archbishop Charles Scicluna had opposed the same-sex marriage law, reflecting the church’s longstanding view that marriage can be between only a man and woman.

“I can decide that a carob and an orange should no longer be called by their name,” Archbishop Scicluna said in a homily a few days after Parliament started debating the legislation. “But a carob remains a carob and an orange remains an orange. And marriage, whatever the law says, remains an eternal union exclusive to a man and a woman.”

The goal of the law, which was pushed by Equality Minister Helena Dalli, was to “modernize the institution of marriage” to extend it to all consenting adult couples.

Mr. Muscat had said it would be “discriminatory” to have separate laws for mixed and same-sex couples. So the amendments to existing laws included eliminating any reference to “husband and wife.” In the term’s place is the gender-neutral “spouse” to cover all situations.

The law also calls for the removal of the terms “father” and “mother,” to be substituted by “parents.” Lesbian couples are distinguished by the terms “the person who gave birth” and “the other parent.”

Other changes concern heterosexual marriages: Any reference to “maiden name” is replaced with “surname at birth,” while both spouses can choose which surname to take after marriage.

The coordinator of the Malta Gay Rights Movement, Gabi Calleja, said achieving equality in marriage met the aspirations of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Most same-sex couples consider marriage to be “the institution that best expresses the commitment and love they have for each other,” Ms. Calleja said.

More than a dozen European countries have legalized same-sex marriage, all in the western part of the Continent. Almost a dozen others, including Italy, have some sort of same-sex unions or civil partnerships, according to the Pew Research Center.</s>(VALLETTA, Malta) — Lawmakers in predominantly Roman Catholic Malta legalized same-sex marriage Wednesday, joining much of Western Europe by replacing the traditional "you are now husband and wife" declaration in civil ceremonies with "you are now spouses."

Only one lawmaker out of 67 in the Maltese parliament voted against the legislation, signaling its broad support on the island nation despite opposition from the Catholic Church.

Nationalist lawmaker Edwin Vassallo cited his Catholic faith and its incompatibility with what he called a "morally unacceptable" law.

"As a Christian politician I cannot leave my conscience outside the door" when voting, Vassallo said.

The Labor government had promised to introduce the bill as its first law after winning a second term last month. Both opposition parties supported it, ensuring its passage.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat hailed the "historic" vote, saying it showed Maltese society had reached "an unprecedented level of maturity."

"We live in a society where we can all say 'we are equal,'" Muscat said as a celebration erupted outside his office in Valletta, the capital.

Indeed, the law's passage marked the latest evidence of the transformation of the once-conservative nation of about 440,000 people, where divorce was illegal until 2011.

While abortion remains banned in Malta, adoption by same-sex couples has been legal since civil unions were introduced in 2014. Last year, the number of exclusively civil marriages eclipsed the number of church weddings for the first time.

Archbishop Charles Scicluna had opposed the same-sex marriage law, reflecting the church's longstanding view that marriage can only be between a man and woman.

"I can decide that a carob and an orange should no longer be called by their name," he said in a homily a few days after parliament started debating the legislation. "But a carob remains a carob and an orange remains an orange. And marriage, whatever the law says, remains an eternal union exclusive to a man and a woman."

The aim of the law, piloted by Malta Equality Minister Helena Dalli, was to "modernize the institution of marriage" to extend it to all consenting adult couples.

Muscat had said it would be "discriminatory" to have separate laws for mixed and same-sex couples. So the amendments to existing laws included eliminating any reference to "husband and wife." In its place is now the gender-neutral term "spouse" to cover all situations.

The law also calls for the removal of the terms "father" and "mother," to be substituted by "parents." Lesbian couples who have children via medical interventions are distinguished by the terms "the person who gave birth" and "the other parent."

Other changes concern heterosexual marriages: Any reference to "maiden name" is replaced with "surname at birth," while both spouses can choose what surname to take after marriage.

The coordinator of the Malta Gay Rights Movement, Gabi Calleja, said achieving equality in marriage met the LGBT community's aspirations. Most same-sex couples consider marriage to be "the institution that best expresses the commitment and love they have for each other," Calleja said.

More than a dozen European countries have legalized same-sex marriage, all in the western part of the continent. Almost a dozen others, including Italy, have some sort of same-sex unions or civil partnerships, according to the Pew Research Center.</s>VALLETTA, Malta (AP) — Lawmakers in the predominantly Catholic island nation of Malta have voted to legalize same-sex marriages.

Malta joined much of Western Europe today when its parliament approved legislation eliminating the traditional "you are now husband and wife" declaration in civil ceremonies and replacing it with "you are now spouses."

The vote was 66-1, with the sole lawmaker who voted against the change citing his Christian faith.

The Catholic Church had opposed the legislation, which the Labor government promised to introduce as its first law after winning a second term last month and which the main opposition party supported.

The aim of the law, piloted by Equality Minister Helena Dalli, is to "modernize the institution of marriage" to give all consenting adult couples the right to marry.</s>Parliamentarians voted 66-1 in favor of a marriage equality bill, marking a major step for LGBTI rights in the predominantly Catholic country.

Nationalist party MP Edwin Vassallo was the only lawmaker to oppose the vote, citing his Christian faith. The marriage equality measure had been expected to pass after MPs voted in its favor last week

On Wednesday night, a government-sponsored celebration was organized with Malta's LGBTIQ Consultative Council -- a government body representing the country's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and questioning organisations -- in front of the capital's historic Auberge de Castille.

There, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, a vocal proponent of marriage equality, celebrated the results, posting a photo from Valletta's Pjazza Kastilja, which was lit up in the colors of the rainbow flag and the phrase "We Made History."

Malta's Government wrote on Twitter, "#MarriageEquality is now reality in #Malta. Pledge fulfilled, future sealed."

The 43-year-old Prime Minister had promised to make the marriage equality bill one his priorities after winning a snap election in June.

Speaking to reporters, Muscat said the historic vote "shows that our democracy, our society ... has reached an unprecedented level of maturity and a society where we can all say we are equal."

As part of the approved measure, the language used in Malta's civil ceremonies is expected to become gender neutral, dropping the language "husband and wife."

The tiny island nation has been riding a wave of social reforms since a 2011 referendum to legalize divorce. Since then, the country has introduced civil unions and last year became the first European state to ban "gay cure" therapy.

Evelyne Paradis, executive director of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association for Europe applauded the vote, calling it "the icing on the cake of the tremendous work by the Maltese LGBTI movement," in a statement on Wednesday.

Paradis also referenced Malta's historic conservatism, and encouraged the government to continue to push further social reforms.

"Now the government must tackle a new project -- ensuring full social acceptance. We know that there are some parts of society who opposed this bill, who had doubts. It is up to the government to continue to show leadership, together with the LGBTI movement, and really embed this legal change in society. The talking is finished inside parliament, but the work must continue outside its doors," Paradis said.

Malta joins at least 14 other European nations that have legalized same-sex marriage.

The Netherlands was the first country to legalize same-sex marriage in 2001. Since, more than 20 other nations have followed suit, including Spain, Canada, Argentina, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland and the United States.
A bill allowing same-sex marriage in Malta gets approved by Parliament.