Malta to legalise same-sex marriages

"Malta wants to keep leading on LGBT issues and civil liberties, to serve as a model for the rest of the world," Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat was quoted as saying by the BBC.

The country is also introducing gender-neutral terms and plans to scrap references to "husband", "wife", "mother" and "father".

Malta will also allow gay couples to adopt children, akin to Germany, who in a snap vote last week passed the historic law as the German LGBTQ community took to streets to celebrate the landmark ruling.

The new law will also be supported by the opposition.

However, the proposal of choosing gender-neutral terms has received criticism from the country's Archbishop Charles Scicluna.

According to him, "The suppression of the cherished terms 'husband and wife', 'mother and father' in Maltese law is lamentable."

He however said that he holds nothing against the LGBTQ community but added, "We do not need to change the way in which God created marriage to enable us to say that two men or two women can get married."

According to ILGA Europe, the European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, Gay Marriages is allowed in the following European Union nations: Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Denmark, UK (excluding Northern Ireland), Finland, France, Germany, Ireland and Sweden.

European countries are also making progress in accepting LGBTQ lawmakers as the head of their state.

Luxumberg, Ireland and Serbia all have LGBTQ members as their respective Prime Ministers.

image: Ludovic Bertron/Wikipedia