GAY RIGHTS OR GODS RIGHTS?

DEFENDING THE PHILIPPINES FROM THE POLITICAL GAY AGENDA

(Keynote Speech delivered by Rep. Bienvenido M. Abante. Jr. in the Human Life International Conference, Cebu Midtown Hotel, Cebu City, 25 August 2007) To the organizers of this Human Life International conference, Dr. Rene Bullecer, esteemed guests and fellow pro-lifers, a blessed afternoon to all of you. Please allow me to express my gratitude to Dr. Bullecer and his group for having invited me to this timely and relevant conference, in spite of the fact that I am no longer the Chairman of the Committee on Human Rights, but rather the newlyelected Chair of the Committee on Public Information in the Fourteenth Congress. I say timely, because this new Congress has barely organized its committees, but the same, old anti-life bills have already been re-filed, and I say relevant, because I place my hope that this gathering will yield fresh, inspiring insights for us who are actively pursuing the pro-life advocacy. My friends, your allies in Congress are donning their best gears in preparation for the full battle ahead of us now. I myself have been the subject of disdainful acts of our enemies who are really out to discredit me ever since I stood up in the congressional chambers last year, and unsheathed my sword of free speech, pointedly against those of my colleagues who espouse anti-life bills, and who are, to my mind, propagating the culture of death. The latest version of the gay rights bill is House Bill 956, entitled An Act Prohibiting Discrimination On The Basis Of Sexual Orientation And Gender Identity, And Providing Penalties Therefor, introduced by Akbayan Representative Ana Theresia Hontiveros Baraquel. The new bill identifies ten (10) discriminatory practices which shall be unlawful for any person, natural or juridical, to undertake. These involve denials to access to public service, including military service; educational institutions, medical and other health services; professional licenses issued by the government; hiring, promotion and dismissal of workers, including employees compensation, and contracting and engaging of services of juridical persons; use of establishments, facilities, utilities or services, including housing; formal recognition and/or registration of any organization, group, political party, institution or establishment, in educational institutions, workplaces, communities and other settings; forcing any person to any medical or psychological examination to determine or alter the persons sexual orientation or gender identity without the expressed approval of

the person involved, harassment by members of institutions involved in the enforcement of the law, such as the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines; and other analogous circumstances. The bill likewise provides for administrative sanctions for any government official whose duty is to investigate, prosecute or act on a complaint but refuses to do so, and for penalties of fine and imprisonment or both at the discretion of the court, including community service by the perpetrator. I have exhaustively outlined the salient features of the bill on purpose- and that is to warn all of us here of the magnitude of this issue, and the serious implications of the bill to our values, to our culture and to our political landscape. My friends, what are the goals and strategies of the LGBTI, or the lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders and intrasexuals, social movements? Sociologist Mary Bernstein writes: "For the lesbian and gay movement, cultural goals, include challenging dominant constructions of masculinity and femininity, homophobia, and the primacy of the gendered heterosexual nuclear family. Political goals include changing laws and policies in order to gain new rights, benefits, and protections from harm." Here in the Philippines, LGBT movements have adopted the so-called identity politics, that sees lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and/or transgender people as a fixed class of people who aspire for liberal political goals of freedom and equal opportunity, and aim to join the political mainstream on the same level as other groups in society. These groups argue that sexual orientation and gender identity are innate and cannot be consciously changed, and thus, oppose any attempt to change gay, lesbian and bisexual people into heterosexuals by "reparative therapy." Still, others have instead aimed to transform fundamental institutions of society, such as lesbian feminism, or have argued that all members of society have the potential for same-sex sexuality, such as Adolf Brand or gay liberation, or a broader range of gender expression. The LGBTI have hounded us since 12,000 BC, near the end of the Upper Paleolithic Era, when human beings have left artifacts and artwork suggesting an appreciation of homo eroticism. Examples include a few cave paintings and hundreds of phallic "batons" from Gorge d'enfer (in present-day France) that seems to have been crafted for two women to use together. In the 21st century, the evil claws of LGBTIS have extended their reach in a lo t of countries and states. In year 2000, the United Kingdom abolished its ban on homosexuals serving in the armed forces, and Vermont becomes the first U.S. state to legalize civil unions.

The year after, same-sex marriage has been legalized in the Netherlands, making it the first country to do so. In the years that followed, Belgium, Germany, Massachusetts, Spain, Canada, Argentina, and just recently, South Africa, among other countries, have legalized same-sex marriages. Domestic partnerships are legalized in New Jersey, Rio Grande, Brazil, Switzerland, South Australia and in Washington state, and in 2008, the same law comes into affect on 1 January in Oregon. New Zealand, Luxembourg, Mexico City have already passed a civil union bill, New Hampshire will follow suit by January 1, 2008. Some countries, like Spain, Canada and Belgium, have even approved adoption rights for same-sex marriages. In 2002, homosexuality is decriminalized in China. In 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down remaining state sodomy laws. In 2004, Portugal became the fourth country in the world to approve discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in their constitution. In 2005, New Zealand is the first nation in the world to outlaw hate crime and employment discrimination on the basis of gender identity. Andr Boisclair is chosen leader of the Parti Qubcois, becoming the first openly homosexual man elected as the leader of a major political party in North America. In 2006, Washington adds sexual orientation to its existing anti-discrimination laws. Recently, the first ever gay pride parade in a muslim country was held in Istanbul, Turkey; Equality Act 2006 comes into force for the UK, and Oregon, Colorado, Ohio, and Iowa ban discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in the private sector. Let me now ask you, my friends, how do we defend ourselves and our nation amidst this global menace? What are the avenues open to us so that we can pursue our own agenda? Gay rights activists say its a matter of equality, of enjoying the same rights and protections as heterosexuals, as enshrined under the equal protection clause in the bill of rights, and of putting premium on the dignity of every human person and states guarantee of full respect for human rights, ensuring fundamental equality before the law under the constitution, and recognizing states obligation under international human rights instruments. To this I say: the government should not be extending rights to people based on behavior, including sexuality. Protections for women and the disabled who are born with those traits cannot be compared with homosexuals, who can control how they act. No one else should get benefits based on behavior.

If we grant special rights to gays and lesbians, we will be sending the message that their lifestyle is condoned in our society. And this we should not allow! My friends, I dare say that HB 956 encourages same-sex unions! Let us not taunt the fate that befell Sodom and Gomorrah and New Orleans! Let us unmask the evils that HB 956 surreptitiously hides under a cloak of legitimacy! HB 956 encourages social aberrations as well as moral decadence, through unconventional lifestyles that will come to pass as acceptable norms of conduct should this bill become a law. The crux of the controversy hinges on the question of whether homosexuality is a choice or an innate characteristic in other words, is being gay something you do, or something you are? I believe that homosexuality is a lifestyle choice, a rather maladaptive behavior whose consequences, when exercised by the lesbians and gays, are unacceptable before God. It is Gods way to be loving and understanding, but it is not Gods will for us to actually endorse these relationships by way of legislating it. It has been written: for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature; and likewise also the men, leaving the natural of the woman, burned in lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves the recompense of their error which was meet. (Romans 1:18, 27-28) To abet sin and ungodliness is to invite the wrath of God upon ourselves and our God-loving nation. Not only is it a violation of the law of God, but our human anatomy and reproductive systems favor only the lineage of Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve! More importantly, my friends, if we recognize gay and lesbian unions, we will erode the institution of marriage - the foundation of a stable society. For thousands of years, marriage has been a sacred bond between a man and a woman, and no less than our constitution recognizes this sanctity of matrimony. The Philippine Constitution, beginning with its Preamble, and Secs. 12 and 13 in Art. II, including a full article about the family in article XV, is replete with provisions that guarantee the sanctity of the Filipino family as the foundation of the nation.

This bill, therefore, is patently anti-family, as it defeats the sanctity of marriage - a permanent union of a man and a woman, who must be a male and a female under the Family Code. Thus, if we give domestic partner benefits to same-sex couples, we would also have to give benefits to unmarried men and women living together. And what would be the point of marriage then? This will introduce an endless battle over whose relationship is serious and whose is not. WE SHOULD STRIVE TO PROTECT OUR TRADITIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND VALUES! Marriage is not just about love and commitment, but about the stability of family, which is the linchpin of society. Granting new rights and benefits to gays and lesbians would crush one of the pillars of stable, civil society. WHAT THEN SHOULD BE DONE? We should enact and push for legislation that will strengthen and support traditional families - like a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a permanent union between a man and a woman. We should encourage employers and landlords to live by their moral and religious codes. We should prevent gays and lesbians from getting any special legal rights or protections. We should support the ban on gays and lesbians serving in the military, as this will undermine the armed forces ability to preserve order and morale among the troops, and thus the ability to fight wars. We should ban adoptions by gay parents. We should prohibit public schools from incorporating discussions about homosexuality into curriculum. Moreover, any attempt to introduce new hate-crime legislation is unnecessary because gays and lesbians already are protected by laws against murder and assault. As we reaffirm our belief that the government has a responsibility to protect relationships that strengthen society, we should extend protection to citizens based only on qualities no one can help, such as their color, gender or disability, and not their behavior.

Also, religious employees, employers and citizens, organizations and juridical entities should not be forced into the dilemma of either violating their faiths teachings or breaking the law when they refuse to hire or rent to homosexuals. Of course, hand-in-hand with the issue of marriage lies the issue of children. Gods beautiful creations, our precious little children, should not be exposed to same-sexed parents, in order for them to have healthy and well-balanced sexual identities. Finally, my dear friends in pro-life advocacy, our society is conflicted with a myriad of issues at this time - population control and abortions, pornography, graft and corruption, the on-going war in Basilan, extra-judicial killings and other human rights violations which sap our energies and fray our nerves to the hilt. We may say that the battle against evil has not seemed to end in the last adjournment of Congress, and may even escalate in this 14 th Congress. But for as long as we wage this war against sin and against evil, without fear or trepidation, and with full confidence and trust in Gods power and might, we will CONTINUE to vigorously defend our beloved nation and our fellowmen from the political and cultural gay agenda, and other anti-life bills. AND I BELIEVE, MY FRIENDS, THAT VICTORY IS OUR DESTINY! Thank you to all of you, and good afternoon.