Saturday, 30 Jun 2012, 01:31
There are citizens amongst us who are still deprived of the rights that the rest of us enjoy. For many years now the Malta Gay Rights Movement (MGRM) has been campaigning for the rights of same-sex couples, to make violence against homosexuals a criminal offence, to address bullying against gays in schools, to prohibit discrimination in the delivery of goods and services on the grounds of sexual orientation, to extend the remit of the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality to cater for the grounds of sexual orientation and to include gender reassignment surgery and hormone therapy for transgender persons as part of the public health services. Some of these battles have been won.
The Labour Party will continue to ensure that gays enjoy full human rights in Malta and Gozo. The Labour Party has introduced the major liberal social reforms in Malta in the face of opposition from conservative forces. It has introduced these reforms and will continue to introduce such reforms, as part of its core principles and not for tactical and opportunistic vote-catching, MGRM rightly holds that same-sex life partners in long-term, committed relationships lack the rights, benefits and duties that opposite-sex married couples automatically receive. By preventing the legal recognition of same-sex partners the state thrusts their families into legal limbo and excludes these couples and their children from full membership in society.”
MGRM are right in stating that “any government which aims for an inclusive and just society has the duty and obligation to address discrimination based on prejudice.”
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