Vassallo says ‘time to move forward,’ after PN decides not to punish him on gay marriage vote
The Nationalist MP who decided to vote against the Marriage Equality Bill and who ignored the party’s whip’s direction, Edwin Vassallo, believes that is it now time to move forward.
Vassallo, a veteran PN MP, said that he voted against the Bill with a clean conscience and that he does not regret taking this decision.
He was speaking to The Malta Independent after the Nationalist Party announced that its executive had, on a proposal by outgoing leader Simon Busuttil, decided not to take action against him.
Citing Christians values which serve as foundations for his politics, Edwin Vassallo was the first MP during the Marriage Equality Bill debate in Parliament, to openly declare that he would be voting against the Bill. His declaration was made even after the outgoing Leader of the Opposition Simon Busuttil said that the Opposition will unanimously vote in favour of the vote. Meanwhile there were multiple reports suggesting a number of PN MPs were asking for a free vote as they did not agree on the way the bill removed the terms ‘mother’ and ‘father’ from the law.
Vassallo had said that same sex marriage in Malta was already given through the Civil Union bill.
“I did my research. It clearly states that it is marriage under a different name.
“I will vote against, because no party has the mandate to introduce this bill. We are speaking about a truck, but the content is about a motorcycle. Joseph Muscat has raped the definitions in our constitution,” he argued.
The second reading of the bill made through parliament with Vassallo standing his ground and voting against.
Yesterday, the PN issued a statement saying that the Nationalist Party will take no action against Vassallo. Commenting after the decision, Busuttil said that the party should focus on the important matters. The most important thing is not that one member voted against, but that the PN made a giant step forward towards equality in Malta.
“I am proud to have led the PN take this step, in spite of it being difficult for some. The decision has now been taken and we need to look ahead in a sense of unity and not waste time on what steps are to be taken against dissenters,” Busuttil said. He thanked all those in the parliamentary group who voted in favour of the law in spite of having reservations.
Speaking to this newspaper later in the day, Vassallo said: “I still believe that what I did was right. But, as the PN leader said in his statement, it is now time to move forward.”