Nationalist Party leader Simon Busuttil yesterday threw a damp cloth on rumblings that a small faction within the party was against the proposed Marriage Equality Act, insisting the Opposition would support it.

The Prime Minister said the government did not want to create “two types of marriages”.

Archbishop Charles Scicluna did not mince words when he referred to the proposed changes while speaking during Mass at Siġġiewi.

Speaking during a short radio interview, Dr Busuttil said same-sex marriage already existed “in substance” and this was why the PN would support the proposed legal changes when it was debated in the House.

The Sunday Times of Malta reported yesterday that about five Opposition MPs want a free vote on gay marriage when it is debated in Parliament, saying the Bill as drafted would put same-sex marriage on a higher standing than marriage between a man and a woman.

Dr Busuttil noted yesterday that the Civil Unions Act, introduced three years ago already gave same-sex couples the same rights and obligations as married couples, “a reality the party has accepted”.

Without entering into the merits of whether or not he would allow MPs a free-vote on the matter, Dr Busuttil acknowledged this was a sensitive matter but noted that the PN had already included the proposal in its electoral manifesto. The party, he said, would support the law at all stages in the House of Representatives. Read more via Times of Malta