Long awaited rights for homosexual couples are at long last beginning to take form, with a recent proposal to extend the definition of hate crimes to include the grounds of sexual orientation, and with the conservative political party having taken the plunge to legislate for the rights of homosexual couples through an upcoming cohabitation bill.
In June, for the first time ever, the United Nations endorsed the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. The resolution expressed “grave concern at acts of violence and discrimination, in all regions of the world, committed against individuals because of their sexual orientation and gender identity”.
More importantly, it also established a formal UN process to document human rights abuses against homosexuals, including discriminatory laws and acts of violence.
A White House statement on the day read: “This marks a significant milestone in the long struggle for equality, and the beginning of a universal recognition that (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) persons are endowed with the same inalienable rights − and entitled to the same protections − as all human beings.”
Malta too signed on that day, and now it is time to begin putting those words into action. As matters currently stand, here in Malta, LGBT people are certainly not “endowed with the same inalienable rights − and entitled to the same protections − as all human beings” as Washington had so aptly put it. But now it appears that matters are talking a turn for the better.
The announcement by Justice and Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici of plans to extend the range of what are legally termed as “hate crimes” to include such crimes against homosexuals is wholly welcomed but what we must also ask ourselves as a nation is why this wasn’t done a long time ago?
But, as the adage goes, better late than never – and criminalising hatred on the grounds of a person’s sexuality cannot come a day too soon.
Fortunately, homosexuals are not the subject of rampant violence in Malta as is the case in some places, but discrimination in all its insidious forms is still very much prevalent. And although homosexuality, along with adultery, was decriminalised in Malta in the 1970s, the country’s legal structures themselves have until now been unquestionably discriminatory towards homosexuals.
Homophobia, hate crimes and discrimination in all its ugly, malicious forms – both hidden and open – can only begin to significantly abate when, first and foremost, the correct laws are put in place. It is only then that society as a whole will have the message drummed home. The powers that be must lead by the example of legislating.
The second piece of long-awaited good news for Malta’s homosexuals is that the Nationalist Party has set about starting the process of legislating for homosexual cohabitation rights, an area where Malta’s laws are failing affected people miserably, in so many ways and on so many levels. Rights as well as responsibilities need to be placed on people in a relationship, whatever that relationship may be – and anything short of that is morally wrong.
There are many different forms that this may take, and the Parliamentary debates on the subject will make for interesting listening, and they will also provide a gauge on how inclusive our politicians really feel our society should be.