Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/656590
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 23 MARCH 2016 News Pro-life group sounds warning to Muscat, Busuttil over gay marriage Pro-lifers say marriage should only be between one man and one woman and open to life TIM DIACONO AN archconservative organi- sation has come out strongly against the Prime Minister's re- cent call for gay marriage and its quick endorsement by the Oppo- sition leader. Life Network spokesperson Klaus Vella Bardon warned that Maltese people who "cherish the traditional values of life and family will feel left out" with the introduction of gay marriage. "As a result, the views of a sub- stantial part of the population – that part that believes that mar- riage should only be between one man and one woman and open to life – are no longer upheld by the leaders of the main political parties," he said in a statement. "The introduction of gay mar- riage would be another blow to the institution of marriage." He also warned that Muscat's and Busuttil's declarations are "presumptuous" and "lack po- litical mandate", given that gay marriage did not feature in the PL's or PN's electoral manifes- tos. "Do Joseph Muscat and Simon Busuttil presume that a substan- tial part of the people can be ignored?" he asked. "We appeal to the general public and espe- cially to MPs on both sides of the House to make their voices heard in defence of marriage." Life Network describes its mis- sion as "addressing all life, mar- riage and family issues founded on Catholic principles of moral- ity and social justice which in- cludes love and respect for every human person regardless of his or her beliefs". Civil unions were introduced in Malta in 2014, granting same- sex couples all the rights of mar- riage available under law. Prime Minister Joseph Mus- cat said earlier this month that he is in favour of introducing gay marriage, even if it was just a question of a terminology change. He was responding to a ques- tion posed by a lesbian couple at an event organised by the La- bour women's branch. Opposition leader Simon Bu- suttil quickly said that he would support such a change in termi- nology, but accused the Prime Minister of using a "non-issue" to deviate public attention from the Panama scandal. The archconservative group said gay marriage goes against the wishes of Maltese people who 'cherish the traditional values of life and family'