Are you from the 6th District of Manila? If you are, then do the Filipino lesbian and gay community a big favor. Don’t vote for Rep. Bienvenido Abante, who’s been trying to block the Anti-Discrimination Bill, in the forthcoming 2007 polls. From October 12 to 13, 2007, during the marathon session for the 2007 budget, Rep. Abante barred the House of Representatives from tackling Anti-Discrimination Bill. (Read more in LAGABLAB’s blog).
Rep. Abante happens to be the Chairperson of the House Committee on Civil, Political and Human Rights. By blocking the Anti-Discrimination Bill and by calling homosexuality “morally reprehensible,” he committed a patent act of discrimination, thus violating the all-embracing principles of human rights. This proves that the current Chair of the House Committee on Human Rights does not know a thing about human rights, or about his mandate. Shame. He certainly does not deserve to be Chair of the House Committee on Human Rights.
Aside from calling homosexuality “morally reprehensible,” he also said that the approval of the Anti-Discrimination Bill is tantamount to extending protection to pedophiles. If I were a legislator, I’d be very careful with making such medieval assertions. If Abante really insists on attaching pedophilia to a particular profession or sexual orientation, then he should look into cases of sexual abuse against minors: most have been committed by heterosexual men against female children. The prevalence is also high within the religious institutions. If we are to follow Rep. Abante’s demented thinking, then it makes sense to keep straight men (or priests) from our children. The point, however, is this: pedophilia is an issue of power, and not of sexual orientation. Some adults abuse children because they think they can get away with it. Funny, but it is actually the Church that promotes this sense of impunity – the CBCP, for instance, just held a national conference on reconciliation and renewal for priests to address the issue of sexual harassment and pedophilia within the Church when what they should have done is turn over to authorities those who commit and perpetrate sexual abuse.
If you are not from Manila City, then help LAGABLAB spread the word about Rep. Abante’s discriminatory acts. Write him, call his office, and tell him that the lesbian and gay community does not take discrimination sitting down. If he wants to bring his proselytizing in Congress, then he should resign from his position (or from Congress) and stay in the pulpit. Democracy is not anti-God or anti-religion, but it certainly has to have secular institutions. He was elected not as Pastor but as a legislator, which requires that in matters of public interests, he must abandon his destructive sectarianism and work for the general welfare.
For me, his name is now synonymous with homophobia. Let’s kick the bigot out of Congress next year.
Here’s what you could do (from LAGABLAB’s blog):
Please send protest letters to Rep. Abante and demand from him equal recognition of the basic human rights and fundamental freedoms of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders. Express your condemnation of his discriminatory actions and of his failure, as the Chairperson of the House Committee on Human Rights and as an elected public official, to respect and recognize the Bill of Rights as enshrined in the Philippine Constitution. Here’s his address:
Office of Rep. Bienvenido Abante, Jr.
Rm. 407, South-wing,
House of Representatives,
Batasan Hills, Quezon City
Phone: 931-5001 local 7248 or 9315691 (telefax)
Email: abante_maynila@yahoo.comAlso, send letters of complaint to House Speaker Jose de Venecia for Rep. Abante’s failure to fulfill his mandate as the Human Rights Chairperson. Tell Speaker de Venecia that as the Chairperson of the House Committee on Human Rights, Rep. Abante is committing a violation of human rights by excluding lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders. Below is Speaker de Venecia’s address:
Office of House Speaker Jose de Venecia
Rm. MB-2, House of Representatives, Quezon City
Phone: 931-5001 local 7446, 9315071 to 9315073
Email: devenecia@pldtdsl.net
Yes. The recent controversy involving the Archdiocese of Boston re its pedophile priests is a glaring example.
Homophobic?
Bill Brinkworth
The slandering brand of being a “homophobic,” an “irrational hatred or fear of homosexuals or homosexuality”, is being used to force civilization into accepting their sexual behavior. No one wants to be labeled differently, so the “marketing’ tool of attacking a normal person by making them appear odd or different has greatly been used to force the public to accept the homosexual sexual practices.
Having an aversion to the immoral practices and dangers the homosexual exposes themselves and others to, does not make one phobic (an irrational, excessive, and persistent fear of some particular thing or situation (1)) nor is it irrational or hateful. It is common sense.
Not wanting my house robbed does not necessarily make me harpaxophobia (fear of being robbed). I am not monopathophobic (fear of definite diseases), just because I don’t want people catching diseases the homosexual crowd is spreading.
It is normal to not like certain things. It is natural for people to have some anxiety and agitation towards the homosexual’s practice. Ask any young person, that hasn’t been desensitized by the media or the public school’s social engineers, what they think of the practice and their first reaction will be “yuck” and disdain. Homosexuality is an odd and unacceptable behavior. Unless people are trained to accept it. It is abnormal not to dislike the sin along with others as: robbery, adultery, and pedophilia.
Prior to 1973, homosexuality was recognized as a mental disorder. After tremendous pressure from homosexual groups the American Psychiatric Association removed the practice from their “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-II). On May 19, 2003 the Association (2) met in San Francisco to consider removal of other sexual perversions from their manual including pedophilia, exhibitionism, fetishism, transvestism, voyeurism and sadomasochism. I’m wondering if they are going to generate a belittling label for one that contests the approval of those perversions, as they have for those that have opposed homosexuality.
There is cause to dislike and want to stop their lifestyle from spreading and hurting more of the public and further eroding more traditional family values. Their practices have exposed our civilization to STD’s, such as gonorrheas, Hepatitis A and B, AIDS, syphilis and many more diseases and infections. Just as terrorists tactics have changed how the world functions, the homosexual movement has changed how America is today.
Their lusts, with little social restraint, have expanded to threaten our children. “Gay,” and organizations such as North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) clearly indicate that they are trying to remove restraints, so they can have legal sexual experiences with our children. The Boy Scouts had good reason for not wanting homosexual leaders, as several leaders had molested their charges (3).
“Homophobia” was a word coined by psychologist George Weinberg and discussed in his early 1970’s book, “Society and the Healthy Homosexual.” For over 5,000 years previously, Bible established morality had recognized this perversion as wicked and wrong. Now, for the last 40 years, it has been deemed unacceptable and wrong to even question its practice in normal society. The shoe is now on the other foot. We that believe it is a degrading, dangerous sin are the ones that are wrong. Hmmm?
It is clear we will be pressured to tolerate even more then homosexuality and “gay” marriages. This “homophobia” labeling is clearly a way to keep any from questioning the homosexual’s immorality. I’m wondering if the homosexuals are the ones with real phobias as: social phobia (fear of being evaluated negatively in social situations) or Theophobia (fear of God or religion).
What does the Bible say about homosexuality?
There are those who like to say that the Bible does not condemn homosexuality. Various verses are cited (out of context) and the verses that people use to show that homosexuality is wrong are explained away. The world wants to change God’s words and meanings into something more suitable to its sinful desires. Nevertheless, the truth stands: The Bible condemns homosexuality as a sin. Let’s look at what it says.
Lev. 18:22, “You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.”
Lev. 20:13, “If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltness is upon them”
1 Cor. 6:9-10, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”
Rom. 1:26-28, “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. 28And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper.”
Homosexuality is clearly condemned by the Bible. It goes against the created order of God. He created Adam and then made a woman. This is what God has ordained and it is what is right. Unlike other sins, homosexuality has a severe judgment administered by God Himself. This judgment is simple: They are given over to their passions. That means that their hearts are allowed to be hardened by their sins (Romans 1:18ff). As a result, they can no longer see the error of what they are doing. Without an awareness of their sinfulness, there will be no repentance and trusting in Jesus. Without Jesus, they will have no forgiveness. Without forgiveness, there is no salvation.
well, in the spirit of free speech, i have – obviously – approved contrary opinions about this write up. having said that:
while i respect your deference to your bible and your religious persuasions, one must not confuse public policy with religious tenets. public office does not compel any public official to discard his or her religion, but the position requires respect for pluralism and the rule of law, of our constitutional principles. i don’t care if your bible truly says that we homosexuals are an abomination and hell-bound and i will never use your doctrine to claim otherwise, but there is the constitution that says we are equal; there is this truth, too, that you must recognize: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”.
Just want to say your article is striking. The clarity in your post is simply striking and i can take for granted you are an expert on this subject. Well with your permission allow me to grab your rss feed to keep up to date with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and please keep up the ac complished work. Excuse my poor English. English is not my mother tongue.