Yesterday, May 17, was the International Day Against Homophobia. The cute acronym for this is IDAHO, which actually makes me think about that confusing movie with Keanu Reeves and River Phoenix, My Own Private Idaho, where you can’t quite grasp what’s happening but you know it’s supposed to be something highly intellectual so you just play along and exclaim, “Oh my god, that movie was mind-blowing.” Which it was, sort of.
Anyway, IDAHO comes at an auspicious time since, as you may or may not know (most probably not), the California Supreme Court has just ruled that the State of California cannot, by law, ban gay marriages. This was a split decision (4-3), and the Chief Justice Ron George wrote in his opinion that the State couldn’t offer the paltry substitute of domestic partnerships to the much more palatable option of marriages. (Of course he didn’t write that, I’m just paraphrasing).
As a background, maybe you remember when, for a brief period of time a couple of years ago, the cute Mayor of San Francisco started allowing gay marriages, but this was abruptly halted because of the political and religious furor that surrounded the rites. Then, a law was approved by residents of California, defining a marriage as a union only between a man and a woman. Domestic partnerships were still available to same-sex couples, wherein they could exchange vows and assume responsibilities and later on, even divorce and sue for child support. But this wasn’t enough, and so lawsuits by activists followed.
This Supreme Court ruling will allow California to recognize gay marriages, the second to do so in the US (Massachusetts was actually the first). The thing is, the battle’s not yet over, and this is may be what IDAHO should remind us of. Having lost at the level of state law, those opposed to gay marriages are now trying to go above mere state law, and have the State Constitution amended.
So, some noisy groups are gathering signatures to get the proposed amendment on the ballot, and we’ll have to wait and see how this will pan out. Meanwhile, the lesbian Cynthia Nixon (Miranda in Sex and the City) might take advantage of the ruling, and could get married in California any time soon (Sorry, couldn’t resist the showbiz gossip which I’m totally making up in the hopes that I get an invite.)
According to the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, IDAHO is supposed to “raise the visibility of our struggles around the world to combat … the tragic consequences of homophobia.” Which means it’s a day when everybody is supposed to do something to fight homophobia, which is why I’m spending my Saturday morning writing about this.
Any tragic consequences of homophobia around here in Cebu? Well, unfortunately yes. There’s that Jan-jan/Black Suede scandal, where Jan-jan, in the midst of his rectal operation, found out what it was to be at the receiving end of homophobia. Not discreet or concealed, which is what political correctness forced most bigots to become, but right in his face when he was in a helpless, vulnerable position.
And it didn’t stop there. Right after I opened my mouth last month and praised most everyone for standing up for the human rights of Jan-jan, a couple of religious figures basically said that Jan-jan asked for it. As if some people deserve to have their human rights violated, which was pretty strange.
It’s the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and some people in this society still can’t get it in their heads that everyone, each and every one, has a right to equality and freedom from abuse. The right to be free from discrimination, especially from the hands of people in government.
There’s a lot of ground to be covered. Already, the South African constitution states that no person, regardless of race, sex or sexual orientation, shall be treated as a second-class citizen. In Europe, most governments have banned anti-gay discrimination. Here, pockets of discrimination survive and flourish, and what’s sad is, we find it in institutions where “love one another” is supposed to be the core teaching.
IDAHO just came and went. Maybe when it comes around again, there’ll be better things to report.
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