Five weeks have gone by since the issue with the Gender Identity Act was highlighted by Attard local councilor Alex Mangion and no amendment has been proposed, PN MP Jason Azzopardi has said.

He told the Malta Independent that the Opposition has not been kept up to date as to the changes the amendment would bring.

Alex Mangion, Malta’s first transgender elected official, discovered the issue when he himself went to change his gender, however was told he had to wait. The situation surrounds the fact that he was adopted and did not have a Maltese birth certificate.

The Gender Identity Act, Gender Expression and Sex Characteristics Act allows transgender persons to change their identification documents through a notarial deed without the need for surgery.

The PN had proposed changes to the Act, however government said that their proposals were rushed and government was working on amending the issue.

The PN’s proposal would broaden the definition of a birth certificate within the law.

Government said that it was working on its own solution and that the PN’s proposal did not take into account procedural differences for adoption decrees and birth certificates, arguing that it would cause more problems than solutions.