Fil-Ams ambivalent on same-sex marriage ban

LOS ANGELES— A few hours after the California Supreme Court upheld a ban on same-sex marriage, both sides of the Proposition 8 aisle lost no time mapping out their next move. "We have to renew our commitment to the cause to restore marriage equality in California," Culver City-based fashion recruiter Dennis Cruz Diaz, 34, told Philippine News. Diaz sent out "a thousand solidarity emails" to a gay marriage network, triggering what he calls the "beginning of a new, stronger campaign." Voters are likely to again be asked to decide the question of gay marriage next year. Proposition 8 was a California ballot proposition passed in the November 4, 2008 general election. It changed the state Constitution to restrict the definition of marriage to opposite-sex couples and eliminated same-sex couples’ right to marry. California’s State Constitution put the measure into immediate effect on November 5, the day after the election. The proposition, however, did not affect the existing domestic partnerships in California. Moreover, the Court ruling released early this week recognized the 18,000 same-sex weddings carried out before the ban. [See: Hollywood stars react to gay marriage decision] The campaigns for and against Proposition 8 raised $39.9 million and $43.3 million, respectively, becoming the highest-funded campaign on any state ballot that day and surpassing every campaign in the country in spending except the presidential contest, according to state records. "Why should we complicate marriage?" asks Germaine Junot, 57, a former UCLA professor and Diaz’s uncle. "I’d like to help in protecting this victory of Christian family values. My cousin Dennis wants to do the contrary, I respect that—we are still relatives." Junot, a born-again pastor, has volunteered for a Prop 8 advocacy group in Glendale and vowed "to do whatever I could to defend the sanctity of Christian marriage." More than half of the nearly 4 million dominantly Catholic Filipinos in the US make California their home; almost half a million live in LA County. As a people, Filipinos are generally devout supporters of man-woman union. California also has the most Roman Catholics of any state and a large Protestant population, a large American Jewish community, and an American Muslim population. The state has the largest Muslim community population in the United States, an estimated 3.4 percent of the population, mostly residing in Southern California. Religious statistics, however, doesn’t necessarily translate in the polls. On November 4, 2008, voters approved the measure and made same-sex marriage illegal in California by a vote of 52.3 percent Yes votes against 47.7 percent for No—with a voter turnout of almost 80 percent. Hence, the surge of emotion that ensued following the May 26 ruling is expected. Around 175 people were arrested in San Francisco while taking part in street protests versus the outlawing of gay marriage that same day. "This is a huge setback to same-sex couples," said retired schoolteacher Manolo Yu, 65, who has been living with his partner in the last 12 years. "We will be back next year, and vote again, and hopefully, we will win." Some younger Filipinos, such as LA resident James Castillo, remain ambivalent. "One of the reasons why some people are against same-sex marriage is that it will confuse the young people, especially children," says Castillo, a member of the Movement for Nationalism and Democracy in the Philippines, and who occasionally lectures FilAm students at UCLA on Philippine history and conversational Tagalog. "Eventually, children will know that there are gays and lesbians no matter what. In the Philippines and over here in the US, there are homosexuals and there have been homosexuals since history was written. It is not a disorder to be a homosexual. Even if homosexuals are not allowed to marry, they will still be together with their partners. Not allowing them to be legally recognized as partners will lead to problems in the future. I think it is their civil right to be recognized as a couple and be able to do the necessary legal transactions as heterosexual partners have like filing a joint tax return, or a joint bank account, or being a beneficiary," Castillo adds. Former nun Divina Pascual Ramos, 34, is neither supportive of nor opposed to Proposition 8. "I believe that love is a gift from the Almighty. It is a basic human right and same-sex couples in this country, I observe, are accepted than how it is back home. This is the beauty of freedom. But I think, the issue at hand points to legal benefits, that’s where the trouble starts," the unmarried Ramos explains. Maine, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Iowa have all extended full marriage rights to gay couples, while New Hampshire and New York have edged closer to adopting such a law. In May last year, California’s Supreme Court voted four to three to legalize same-sex marriage, sending gay activists celebrating in the most populous US state and sending thousands of same-sex couples rushing to get married. However, the subject was forced back onto the political agenda by religious and social conservative groups, who gathered enough support for the issue to be put before voters at November 4 polls. Rights activists quickly challenged the legality of the referendum, arguing it was a revision of the state constitution that required a two-third vote in the legislature. - Philippine News