Who are you calling immature?

Apparently the Maltese are a little backward in the maturity stakes and cannot quite face up to the reality that gay couples exist in Malta and that they should have exactly the same rights as heterosexual couples.

I guess we should not be surprised - all we need do is hark back to the divorce referendum to realise that some people on the island are still living in the boonies and want to keep everyone else stuck there with them.

So this week we have France legalising gay marriage and adoption, and gay marriage legislation making it through the House of Commons in the UK, but apparently here in Malta we are not even capable of discussing the matter.

There are so far nine European countries that have legislated to allow same-sex marriage, namely Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. Once the law passes through the House of Lords, then the UK will become the tenth.

I certainly do not expect us to be a trailblazer on such an issue, but I really hope that we are not going to have a repeat of the divorce disaster, with us being the country before last in the whole world to introduce relevant legislation.

The TPPI has its heart in the right place. The report clearly endorses equal rights, however it is way too understanding when it comes to pandering to the conservative elements of our society. If something is right and needs to be done, we cannot be intimidated by a bunch of individuals who will pull a tantrum because they do not want the status quo to change. The conservative phenomenon is not limited to Malta. These factions exist everywhere, but that does not mean that our legislators should not enact laws to ensure that everyone has equal rights. It is their obligation and responsibility to do so. All we need do is read about the far-right French historian who committed suicide on the altar of Notre Dame as a protest against gay marriage, in full view of hundreds of horrified tourists, to get a taste of the resistance that French politicians faced. Politicians in the UK also faced resistance, with a woman getting arrested after she attempted to drive a car through the gates of the Palace of Westminster as the vote took place.

There is no doubt that the French and the British have their immature citizens too, but that did not deter the legislators from doing their duty.

The issue is clear. If we are all equal in the eyes of the State we should have equal access to marriage legislation. This is not a religious issue - nobody is expecting the Roman Catholic Church to start conducting gay weddings - but a purely secular one. Many people are unable to differentiate between the State and the Church, but that is their problem and we should not halt progress simply because they have not kept up with the times.

Society changes and attitudes change with it. There was a time when women were considered chattel, with men literally owning them as property once they got married. However as society evolved and it became obvious that women were human beings in their own rights and were not the equivalent of a horse or a plot of land, the laws changed to reflect this new reality. Similarly, there was a time when people of different races or colours could not get married, because it was considered unnatural - well we all know that these beliefs and laws have been thrown into the dustbin of history. I could come up with endless examples of legislation changing because of changing perceptions and morality, but I guess that you have got my drift.

So the moral of the story is this. We are all human beings. We all deserve to be treated in the same way and have exactly the same rights in the eyes of the law.

Those of us who still cannot accept this need to grow up.