Edwin Vassallo to vote in favour of the Marriage Equality Bill in its third reading

Nationalist Party MP Edwin Vassallo will be forced to vote with the PN Parliamentary Group in favor of the Marriage Equality Bill, even if it has to be against his will, during the third and final reading in Parliament, following his vote against the bill after the second reading, PN sources have told The Malta Independent.

Vassallo told Parliament that he is against this legislation that goes beyond civil unions. This is why he insisted within the party, and eventually in Parliament, that he will not endorse the second reading of the bill at committee stage unless the government conceded to the amendments presented by the Opposition, the sources claim.

“This was an opportunity for the Labour government to show better understanding and consideration towards those in society, irrespective of their political views, that want to preserve the traditional composition of the family and who are worried that elements in the new bill will lead to a situation whereby governments will have the power to regulate what till now has been exclusive to nature,” said one source.

The Malta Independent reported yesterday that Edwin Vassallo had told Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil and Opposition Whip David Agius of his decision to vote against the

Marriage Equality Bill before the Parliamentary session during which he made his position publicly known.

Parliament was debating the second reading of the Marriage Equality Bill that will establish gay marriage. The Bill as proposed by the government seeks to remove gender specific terminology such as ‘mother’, ‘father’, ‘husband’ and ‘wife’. The PN is in favour of gay marriage but sought to keep the gender specific terminology while adding terms such as ‘spouse’ and ‘partner’ in the text.

In Parliament Edwin Vassallo was the first and only MP to vote against the bill. “I am not voting against same sex marriage. I am voting against the content in the law. No party had the mandate to introduce such law that. He said that “The legislator is acting as God over the human life. When this happens, the human is reduced to nothing.”

The Nationalist Party, like the Labour Party, included same sex marriage in the election manifesto.

PN Whip David Agius said that the MPs will not be given a free vote. He confirmed that the PN parliamentary group’s decision to vote in favour of gay marriage remains unchanged. The PN on Wednesday, with the exception of Vassallo, voted in favour of the second reading of the law.