Times: No to 'keeping up appearances' politics

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080920/letters/no-to-keeping-up-appearances-politics
Saturday, 20th September 2008; Letter to the Editor by Albert Gauci Cunningham, Buġibba

I was utterly disgusted while reading Adrian Vassallo's last "contribution" to The Times where he took David Casa to task due to the fact that the latter has written two very good articles egging the government on to legalise "cohabitation".

The title (Standing Up To The Herd Instinct - [pasted below]) is not only offensive but downright disgraceful. What does he mean by "herd"? Does he mean those women who endured years of pain in a broken and violent marriage? Does he mean those children who have to endure the pain of living in a family where love and respect is inexistent?

Who are the herds? Those who have to remain under marriage vows just because they don't have enough money to go abroad and get a divorce like their wealthier neighbour? A divorce which is then so hypocritically accepted by the Maltese state!

Why doesn't Dr Vassallo tell me, a gay person, what to do instead of looking at me like a stupid sheep who follows the herd? Am I supposed to stay single all my life? Am I supposed to endure a situation where I cannot see my partner even in near death situations because I am not considered "family"? Should I have to say "signor si" to a legal system that denies me the right of inheriting anything from a long-time relationship in case of no will? Is this fair?

In his letter, which, may I say (tongue in cheek), is anything but "progressive" and "moderate", Dr Vassallo says that cohabitation is a "malady". What about infidelity? What about having a husband (or a wife) who has sexual encounters with other males (or females) in his/her "free" time? What about prostitution? What about child neglect? What about getting drunk in the village każin at the festa and making a fool out of yourself and your family?

Dr Vassallo has the gall to call the children born out of wedlock as "evil by-products". How are children like these different? What problems does he come across? The single mothers and cohabitating people I know love their children as much as everyone else, so why these undignified "adjectives"?

The truth is that cohabitation is the by-product fuelled by illogical conservatism by our government's pandering to the conservative vote and the MLP's "sitting pretty" policy. This cocktail of inaction has closed all possibilities of people whose marriage is in a state of no return to remarry and so leaves them in this legal limbo without any duties, rights or social recognition. It has also left gay people like me with no other choice but to cohabit in this "legal jungle" called Malta!

It is very ironic that at a time when the MLP is rightly doing its utmost to be seen as progressive and a real Socialist Party, out comes one of its shadow ministers with calls of fire and brimstone and "abyss of destruction", as he calls cohabitation!

The world has moved and we have moved with it. We have learnt to accept different lifestyles and regulate them. The time of "keeping up appearances" politics is over. We need to shake ourselves from the very foundations, remove the lethargy and act. Dr Vassallo is no "guardian of our values". He is just the "guardian of the status quo" which is diametrically opposed to his leader's and the majority of this country's wishes!

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Times: Standing up to the herd instinct
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080906/letters/standing-up-to-the-herd-instinct
Saturday, 6th September 2008; by Adrian Vassallo (MP Labour), Ta' Xbiex

David Casa, the Nationalist member of the European Parliament, has highlighted the fact that marriage is on the decline in Malta, compared to some decades ago, and that "more people are cohabiting" (Let's Legislate Now!, September 4).

He does not recognise this as a social malaise. Instead of finding a cure for this social malady, he proposes to institutionalise it by law.

He has invoked the Nationalist Party promise, made during the last electoral campaign, to enact cohabitation legislation.

To seal his argument, he quoted from St Paul's letter to the Corinthians.

This is not the first time scripture has been cited to suit a particular viewpoint!

Mr Casa holds that "we are in duty bound to protect those couples that are de facto cohabiting." From a purely civil point of view, all these couples could take care of themselves if they opt for civil marriage - in which case they would be cohabiting de jure.

In his words, Mr Casa concedes that "it is an established fact that cohabiting relationships are more fragile, in the sense that they are more prone to break-ups than marriage".

The sane approach to this is to discourage cohabitation, and to shore up the institution of marriage and the traditional family - and this for social, legal and moral reasons.

Cohabitation has made fast inroads. It is a social malaise that undermines our traditional cultural and family values.

Among its evil by-products are the difficulties faced by children born out of cohabiting relations. These are real difficulties, for which legal solutions must be found.

The answer is to sanitise the Maltese social milieu and not to emulate the Gadarene swine by senselessly leaping with the herd in an abyss of destruction.