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ame-sex marriage has been a very controversial issue that has drawn more attention since it was allowed by the US Supreme Court. Here in the Philippines, groups and some individuals now would like the same arrangement to be allowed in the country. I would like to share my take on this issue.

First, it is really very illogical to say that just because you love your dog then you should be allowed to marry it; that point is absurd. It is also not true that legalizing same-sex marriage is equivalent to the idea that anyone can marry anyone '€” or anything. And it is not about '€œreproducing.'€ Let me remind everyone that there are heterosexual couples who, for one reason or another, are not able to reproduce; still they are a family.

Also, love and care are not exclusive to '€œmothers and fathers'€; everyone who has emotions and sensitivity is very much capable of loving and caring for people close to them. Besides, not just because a child grew up with two mothers or two fathers, he/she is not normal; if that were so, how would you call the children of single moms or single dads?

Lastly, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) people are normal people. We are very much capable of thinking, doing things right and rendering right judgments. We are students, educators, entertainers, lawyers, doctors, engineers, architects and many more. Just because we are a minority in this society doesn'€™t mean we are not normal. It just so happens that heterosexuality is the common thing, but it is not the '€œnormal'€ thing. The word normal is relative, depending on who it'€™s coming from.

Same-sex marriage is never a religious issue. Even atheists and/or agnostics marry. Neither is it a morality issue, ever; nor just a '€œlove'€ issue '€” it will never be. It is an issue of us, LGBTs, asserting our civil and political rights; love is just one part of the whole thing.

We are taxpayers, too, we contribute to society'€™s economy, and we do our part in society, and we believe that we deserve to fully exercise our rights as citizens of this country, just like all other Filipinos.

Isn'€™t it a fact that even if you get married in a church, if that marriage is not registered with the Civil Registrar'€™s Office, then that marriage does not exist? The bottom line here is: Marriage is a matter of being recognized under the law.

Same-sex marriage (or '€œmarriage equality,'€ as we like to call it) is a way for us to exercise our rights as married couples, inasmuch as heterosexual couples enjoy their benefits (health, property, etc.) as legally married couples. For me, the only consequence of marriage equality is that it gives LGBT people a little space to be recognized; it wouldn'€™t harm any other marriage, right?

Finally, I would like to remind everyone to please refrain from saying that they '€œaccept'€ us but cannot even support our struggle for our rights. Such statements are hypocritical and smack of double standard.

Jhay De Jesus
spokesperson, True Colors Coalition
Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN/Manila