Civil Liberties Minister Helena Dalli introduced the debate on the Civil Union Bill in second reading yesterday.Civil Liberties Minister Helena Dalli introduced the debate on the Civil Union Bill in second reading yesterday.

Civil Liberties Minister Helena Dalli yesterday urged society to compare the Civil Union Bill with civil, not Church, marriage.

Introducing the debate on the Bill in second reading, Dr Dalli acknowledged that the Church had every right to voice its opinion on the matter.

However, the Bill did not concern Catholic marriages.

She said that a survey carried out among 93,000 people across Europe by the European Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) in 2011-2012, put Malta in eighth place as discriminating against LGBT persons at work. It also put Malta in seventh place as a country discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation.

It was shocking to note that 28 per cent of suicides among young persons in Malta were committed by LGBT persons.

The Bill was an issue of human rights and not of gay rights. LGBT persons should have all rights and access to all opportunities to be really equal.

The Government believed civil liberties should be strengthened because no one had the right to interfere in the free choices made by individuals.

It was not acceptable for a same sex couple to be denied the same rights as other couples in taking bank loans, insurance and other services. And, she said, more civil liberties Bills would be introduced in the coming years.

Referring to the contentious issue of adoption, Dr Dalli said a single person could now adopt, sexual orientation being irrelevant.

There have been cases where a gay or a lesbian individual went on to adopt while also having a partner of the same sex back at home. The Adoption Board’s power of scrutiny would now be strengthened.

The Government was also very committed to protect the best interests of the child. It was important also to note that before the election, former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi had reached a consensus on this point with the Opposition leader Joseph Muscat, on the premise that the best interest of the child would still be paramount.

The Bill also recognised the status of two people who had got married abroad before coming to Malta.

Dr Dalli said the Opposition had to decide on its stand on the Bill because the Leader of the Opposition, while claiming that the Bill was a step in the right direction, also said that it was confusing.

There have been cases where a gay or lesbian individual went on to adopt while also having a partner of the same sex back home

Dr Busuttil said they intended putting forward amendments to the Bill.

Which fundamental rights would the Opposition choose not to give to the gay community? The Bill reflected what the community needed and wanted.

She said that sadly Dr Busuttil, together with David Casa, had repeatedly refused to vote or had abstained on behalf of Malta, when acting as MEPs on a law making homophobic violence in Europe a crime. Also, in 2010 Dr Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici, at the time Minister of Justice, had claimed that gay couples were against Malta’s public policy.

The challenge was to change the culture of Maltese society once the Bill became law. This could only be possible through education.

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