Tonight, our politicians will vote on the Civil Unions bill, that will grant same sex couples the same rights as a married couple in all but name.

The civil unions bill is a massive step forward – which it must be said – has been spearheaded by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. For this, he deserve praise and acknowledgement. It is still plain to see that there is opposition within the general public to the move. But the Prime Minister took responsibility and pushed it through parliament, rather than putting it to a referendum.

This will be another massive victory for minority groups in Malta. The first huge victory that was scored was the divorce referendum. In that vote, the people of Malta and Gozo put aside their own personal opinions and decided to vote in favour of its introduction – largely not for themselves, but for other people who were being denied the right to a loving and stable committed relationship.

The public’s perception of the PN soured at the time, when despite the result, some of its MPs still voted against its introduction when the matter was put to the vote. This time, it is the rights of same sex couples that are being addressed. One of the memes doing the rounds on the social media goes along the lines that being angry at the introduction of same sex marriage is akin to being angry at someone buying a doughnut because you are on a diet. It sums it up perfectly. While it is pleasing to note that Malta -  under this labour government – is moving on in leaps and bounds where it comes to civil liberties, there is still a section of society that is vehemently against their introduction.

We understand that for some sections of society, it is hard to see Malta move ahead so quickly. Many believe that traditional morals are being eroded, but this is not the case. It is merely the accordance of rights being given to all strata of our society. We believe that the LGBT community has much to be proud of. It has worked tirelessly for the protection of people who have been subjected to abuse and injustices over the years. It has been a long and hard uphill road to climb. But it has got there and by and large, it has the support of the general public.

People in same sex relationships have as much right to be legally recognised as a partnership – from each and every aspect, whether it is joint property, hospital bedside rights, or even just the stability that it brings. Perhaps in the not so distant future, we might even see it being changed in name from civil union, to plain and simple gay marriage; and why on earth not?