A few days ago, some members of the Malta Gay Rights Movement (MGRM) held a peaceful protest outside the River of Love building in Żebbuġ to show the movement’s disapproval towards certain people’s attempts to convert gay people into heterosexuals.

Why is it that a lot of people on this island still find it difficult to accept gay people for what they are? Why did the MGRM have to hold a peaceful protest to drum home the message that they are not any different from any other ‘normal’ Tom, Dick and Harry? No wonder, over the past few decades, a large percentage of gay people have sought pastures new in more liberal minded countries, away from the mind-forged manacles that hold back people in Malta.

The people on this island need to move ahead with the times and accept that we are living in a multicultural society, in which people have a different race, sexual orientation, culture and background.

Good for the MGRM for standing up to narrow-minded opinions. People, of whatever race, age, sex and background, should have a right to live as they wish, without feeling ostracised by society. Whether they are allowed to do so is another matter altogether. But Malta, please, for all those who love you, get real and move ahead with the times.

■ Angelo Debono

Pembroke