The Malta Gay Rights Movement has accused former prime minister Lawrence Gonzi of “wilful misinterpretation of the law” when referring to the ‘right’ of gay couples to adopt. But Dr Gonzi insisted it was the government that had sold the idea that it was granting a new right.
In a column published in Times of Malta yesterday, Dr Gonzi referred to the Civil Union Act which, according to government spokesmen, recognises the ‘right’ of gay couples to adopt.
He said there is no right to adoption, even for heterosexual couples, and that it is only children who have a right to be adopted by the best possible parents.
But the Civil Union Act did not introduce the right to adoption, MGRM said. The law simply established the principle of equality, and the right of same-sex couples to be considered as potential adoptive parents should this be judged to be in children’s best interest by the adoption board.
“Lawrence Gonzi of course has every right to express his disagreement with the Civil Union Bill as is the right of every citizen. What is unacceptable is the wilful misinterpretation of the law, of which, being himself a lawyer, he is very well aware,” MGRM said in a statement.
The organisation accused Dr Gonzi of knowingly distorting the truth, saying this was not in the best interests of children.
“The problem is not the Civil Union Act and the rights and obligations that it grants to same-sex couples but the firmly entrenched belief that the best interest of the child can only be met by heterosexual family models, all evidence to the contrary notwithstanding,” MGRM said.
Contacted by Times of Malta, Dr Gonzi said it was the government that promoted the idea that a new right was being given to gay couples: “This has not been sold to the public as an application – this is a right.
“It has been explained to the public in general that a new right is being given to somebody who allegedly did not have this right before. My answer to that is that no-one has the right to adoption. It is the child that has a right to have the best solution possible,” Dr Gonzi said.
Asked whether he agreed that gay couples should have the faculty to adopt, in light of his statement before the election that he believed gay couples were as capable of raising children as heterosexual couples, Dr Gonzi replied that his position had been clear and consistent from the start, putting the interest of the child first.
“I am not going to take a position that says that a married couple should always have the right to apply or the right to adopt. That is not the point. What is the best interest of the child?” Dr Gonzi said the Civil Union Act placed the best interest of the child as “secondary to interests of other persons and that is wrong in my opinion”.
No new right is being given or should be given to anyone to adopt because the issue of adoption is regulated by a separate law dealing with adoption and that law specifies that it is the interest of the child that has to be decided upon, the former prime minister said.