Rainbow-colored Life

I try to stay away from controversial topics here in my blog. No political views. No recent events. No PBBTeens update! I just think that I can’t bear the stress, in case I don’t share the same sentiments as my readers. And people will always have a say.

But something happened recently and I wanna write my views on the matter. Not because I think I’m right. But because this is my blog. This is my little corner in the world wide web. Here, I am free to express myself. Because here, I could be me.

I’ll give you a little background…

On May 18, 1970, a gay couple applied for a marriage license in a courthouse in Minneapolis. The clerk of course refused, and so they sue the court house. Initiating that nothing in the Minnesota marriage stature mentioned gender. And that limiting marriage to opposite sex couple would constitute to unconstitutional discrimination. The case was of course dismissed but they appealed to US Supreme court who then rejected it.

But last week, the world was greeted with a wonderful news by the US Supreme Court. Gays could now marry NATIONWIDE. And I quote some of the best lines from Justice Anthony Kennedy…

“Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions.”

“They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right.”

Honestly, when I read it, naiyak ako! We are one step closer to achieving equal rights. We are one step away from discrimination.

And so I wear the wonderful rainbow badge on my FB profile and post a rainbow badge on my IG. Because like the rest of the LGBT community, I rejoice at this triumph.

Now here’s the thing. Not everybody was happy. Yes! Not everybody was accepting. Napuno ang social media ng bible quotes. Madaming nagsalita. Madaming nagbigay ng opinyon.

I was sharing some posts that I like on my FB wall. But I think that’s not enough. I have to write my own thoughts and finally share my views on it. Because I am one with them.

For me, this legalization of same-sex marriage was never an issue of religion. That is why I am a firm believer of the importance of the separation of the church and the state. While the church aims to protect their people’s morals and values, it is the State’s responsibility to ensure that everyone is enjoying their equal rights. Regardless of their religion or political stand. Especially on democratic nations.

Some say, this is another step to the condemnation of morality. I beg to disagree. This is another step to ensure that everyone does not look down on others just because of their sexual preference.

When I was a little kid, I studied on a catholic school run by nuns. One of the nuns asked us during our religion class, what is God’s greatest gift to mankind. My classmates was yelling “life!”. But then she said, “Well God has given life to other living things.”. And so we said, “The world!”. But then she said, “Well, we do not own this world. We share it with other living and non-living things.”.

So according to her, “God’s greatest gift to mankind is FREEWILL.”. My then 7 year old self don’t understand it. I surely don’t have freewill. Because if I do, I’d opt to skip school and stay at home for sure. But now I understand. Oo nga, freewill. God has given us freewill. We are free to think, to choose the path we want to live. Unlike the tree who has no choice but to grow, on that same spot it was planted. We have the power to live the life we choose.

You might say, baliw pala ako. Kasi mali nga ang same sex marriage. Kasalanan yun. Surely God doesn’t want us to love another man or woman. Siguro nga. Siguro nga our God doesn’t want that. Pero paano ang aetheist? Paano ang mga di naniniwala sa bible? Paano sila? Paano kung minahal nila eh kapwa nila lalake? You may say sooooobrang makasalanan nila nun. Pero sino ka para i-judge sila? At sino ka para ipagkait sa kanila ang karapatang magmahal ng taong gusto nilang mahalin?

Paano silang hindi naniniwala na kasalanan ang pagmamahal ng kapwa lalake o kapwa babae? Will you deprive them of their right to marry the one they love just because you believe that it’s wrong? It’s like shoving your beliefs into someone else’s throats. It’s like telling the Muslims that having more than 1 wife is a sin. Tanggap yun sa religion nila eh. Tanggap ng mga babaeng Muslim yun. And as long as they are not forced to do something they don’t want to, you do not have the right to judge. And as long as they are not hurting, killing, stealing or in anyway affects you or anybody else directly, you do not have the right to stop them.

I believe that war happens because people don’t respect each other’s belief. War happens between a Catholic who believes in Mary and an Iglesia who doesn’t. War happens when people judge each other because of their religion or their sexual preferences or the color of their skin. War happens because we do not know the meaning of respect. The real meaning of the word.

Respect is not just about acknowledging their presence. Hindi porket okay ka na bakla sya, ibig sabihin nirerespeto mo na. The mere fact that you judge that person, kahit sa isip mo lang, just because of their preferences – that is not respect.

Mahalin mo ang kapwa mo. Tanggapin mo na hindi lahat ng pinaniniwalaan mo eh paniniwalaan din nya. Tanggapin mo din ang katotohanan, na hindi lahat ng tama sa pananaw mo eh tama na. And anything that goes against it is wrong. Ano ba ang basehan ng tama? Sino nga ba ang tama?

For me, the best thing that a Religious group could do about this whole same-sex marriage is to not allow them to marry on their church. And to encourage their members to not fall in love with the same sex. And I won't ever dare to ask the Pope to allow same sex marriage on the Catholic church. Malaking pambabastos na yun na paniniwala nila. I ask for respect and so I am firm to giving my respect to others as well.

Some say, bakit ba kasi kailangan pang ikasal? Kapirasong papel lang yun. Hayaan nalang. But that kapirasong papel would surely make a difference.

Imagine those gay couples who's been together for 20, 30 years. They have built everything together, but they could never call anything they built as conjugal property. Imagine not having hospitalization rights? Imagine mo? You spent half of your life with a person but on your death bed, and the hospital asks for "immediate family", ni hindi dun kasama ang taong mahal mo. You can't even adopt a child together because you will never be considered a "family". Marami pa. Maraming nagagawa ang kapirasong papel na yun.

Let us give each and everyone the right to live the life they want to live. And I beg to the LGBT community and the LGBT supporters to fight hate with love. Because more than anybody else, we should know that #LoveWins, all the time.

Musings