(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." 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." 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. 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.
A bill allowing same-sex marriage in Malta gets approved by Parliament.