A law giving same-sex couples the right to join in a civil union was approved by Parliament yesterday as hundreds gathered in the square outside to celebrate an occasion hailed as historic.

A day when a distinction was drawn between the past and the future- Joseph Muscat

All government MPs voted in favour while all Opposition MPs abstained.

When the Speaker declared the vote carried, the crowd following proceedings in St George’s Square applauded and the Palace facade lit up in the colours of the rainbow, the international symbol for gay rights.

The crowd cheered the Labour MPs and booed the Nationalists as they exited the building.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said this was a historic step forward for “equality”.

“We are doing this for our children, my children,” Dr Muscat said, adding this was “a day when a distinction was drawn between the past and the future”.

The law will give same-sex couples the same rights and obligations as married couples, including the possibility to adopt children.

The PN is in favour of civil unions but has reservations on gay adoptions- Simon Busuttil

It was this last point that drove a wedge in the PN parliamentary group, which decided to abstain despite agreeing with civil union.

In an explanation before the vote, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil acknowledged there were different views within the PN parliamentary group.

After six months of discussion it had decided that the best way forward was a collective abstention, he added.

This is a historic step forward for equality

“The PN is in favour of civil unions but has reservations on gay adoptions. Had the government separated the two issues, tonight [yesterday] there would have been unanimous support for civil unions.”

Dr Busuttil also defended the party’s decision not to grant its MPs a free vote as happened when the divorce law was approved three years ago.

“We felt an abstention that everybody could accept was better than a free vote,” he said, adding society was not yet prepared for gay adoptions and the PN could not ignore what the majority was saying.

This does not reflect the order established by God in creation- Mgr Charles Scicluna

But as the gay community marked the occasion with the cutting of a large symbolic wedding cake in St George’s Square, Auxiliary Bishop Charles Scicluna spoke of his regrets.

He said the law put civil unions on a par with marriage without recognising the intrinsic distinction between the two types of relationship.

Acknowledging that the law had its positive side because it gave legal protection to same-sex couples, Mgr Scicluna noted “with regret” that from now on a child’s adoptive parents may be a man and a man or a woman and a woman.

Foreign Minister George Vella, who was on ministerial duty in Brussels, also declared his support for the law.

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