The Maltese parliament has passed legislation to allow the recognition of same-sex relationships as marriage. It did so by radically redefining all relationships in marriage, replacing the words ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ in law with the gender-neutral term ‘spouse’ instead. They also replaced the use of ‘mother’ and ‘father’ with the term ‘parent’. Lesbian couples who have children via donor sperm are distinguished by the terms ‘the person who gave birth’ and ‘the other parent’.

The legislation was passed overwhelmingly with only one dissenting vote willing to defy a party whip. Edwin Vasallo called the bill a “dishonest law” that would change the very fabric of Maltese culture. He also cited his faith for opposing the bill: “A Christian politician cannot leave his conscience outside the door” when he enters parliament, he said.

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who says he is Catholic, pledged to quickly introduce a gay “marriage” law in the predominantly Catholic country after his Labour Party won a snap election last month. Muscat told the BBC prior to the vote that promoting the LGBT agenda is a top priority of his administration. “Malta wants to keep leading on LGBT issues and civil liberties, to serve as a model for the rest of the world,” he said.