Gay Families are REAL

If you do a Google Images search of “gay family” (with quotation marks), most pictures that appear depict exactly that. Then there’s that weird “Family Gay” image of Stewie and Brian Griffin. But the most out-of-place photo of all is the one in the upper right corner, showing a group of kids wearing shirts promoting a homophobic site. The bigotry of the adults in their lives being imprinted on such innocent children is just horrid.

Still, there’s hope for them yet. Perhaps in the future, some of those children will realize that homophobia, not gayness, is wrong. Perhaps by that time, other kids being warned by their “holy” religious leaders against homosexuality and gay relationships will realize that condemning others based on their gender identity is immoral. Maybe future generations will be more accepting of gay unions, and will automatically recognize the bonds between gay people and their families.

To those who say that gay people, gay families, and gay relationships are “disgusting,” “masagwa,” “kadiri,” or evil, shame on you. Shame on you, you self-righteous guardians of “morality” and promoters of destructive hive mentality. You encourage self-hate when you spew your insecurities. Read your “holy” books well. You say that it’s written there that you can condemn gay people, and it is, but you ignore other similarly dubious and utterly idiotic passages altogether. Gayness isn’t a sickness or a disorder. Just because a family has a less-active father doesn’t mean that a child will end up gay. And please, telling gay people that it’s “okay to be gay” while telling them not to “practice homosexuality” because you label it “sinful” basically means that you don’t accept them at all. What idiocy!

Times have changed; the pink triangle is now a symbol of gay empowerment, reversing its original meaning and purpose (it was a badge used for identifying gay people in concentration camps back in World War II). The recent New York gay marriage legalization and the Baguio gay weddings are moving victories. But it’s disappointing that homophobia in the country immediately reared its ugly head, accompanied by similarly ugly anti-gay union signature campaigns and shameless meddling by avowed celibates. Many committed gay couples want to get married to avail of the rights and benefits that straight couples get, but more importantly, to express their love for, and devotion to each other. But the bigots keep repeating the same old verses.

I’m reposting part of what Republican (yes, Republican!) and anti-Prop. 8 lawyer Theodore Olson said early last year:

“The fact that individuals who happen to be gay want to share in this vital social institution is evidence that conservative ideals enjoy widespread acceptance. Conservatives should celebrate this, rather than lament it… When we refuse to accord this status to gays and lesbians, we discourage them from forming the same relationships we encourage for others. And we are also telling them, those who love them, and society as a whole that their relationships are less worthy, less legitimate, less permanent, and less valued. We demean their relationships and we demean them as individuals. I cannot imagine how we benefit as a society by doing so.”