http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130301/elections-news/withdraw-submitssions-against-joanne-cassar-ad-tells-government.459598
Friday, March 1, 2013, 09:38
Alternattiva Demokratika this morning called on the government to withdraw its submissions against transgender Joanne Cassar with immediate effect, and remove the legal obstacles against her ability to marry right away.
Referring to a statement by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi yesterday that the PN will introduce gender recognition legislation for transgender persons during the next legislature should it be re-elected in government, AD chairman Michael Briguglio said:
“Not only did the Government fail to progress the legislation that was tabled through a private member’s bill, it actually fought Ms Cassar tooth and nail all the way to the Constitutional Court to deny her the fundamental right to marry her male partner. This in spite of clear European Court of Human Rights case-law dating back to 2002 which Malta is obliged to respect.”
AD candidate Silvan Agius said the government was still fighting against Ms Cassar’s rights in Strasbourg.
In its submission, the government is challenging the Goodwin & I v. UK judgement through which the court had extended the right to marry to trans persons. In its submission the Maltese government claimed that Ms Cassar’s birth certificate was only altered to allow her to preserve her privacy, but that the Maltese government continued to regard her as a man in line with the natal sex under which she was recorded.
This showed that while the Nationalist government was actively fighting against trans rights, it was, on the other hand, asking trans people to vote for it.
Dr Briguglio said that AD in Parliament would table legislation ensuring the recognition of trans people’s gender without unnecessary delays or invasion of privacy, living up to the human rights standards of the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, and MGRM’s call for transgender equality.
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