House bill seeks heterosexual rights for free expression of thoughts on LGBTQI

A lawmaker from Manila has filed a bill providing rights to heterosexuals to freely express their thoughts on homosexuality and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) community based on their religious beliefs.

Representative Bienvenido Abante of Manila made the proposal under his House Bill 5717 which states that heterosexuals should have the following rights:

• adhere to, practice, proclaim, promote, propagate, defend and protect their religion and religious beliefs, convictions and standards without interference and/or abridgment;
• practice and enjoy their religious profession and worship without interference or abridgment with the right to exclude therefrom others of different beliefs or faith;
• freely express and communicate with others, privately or publicly, verbally or in writing or through print or broadcast media or through social media platforms that now exist or that may hereafter be developed;
• freely express, exercise, and impose, in running or operating their churches, businesses, schools or workplaces; and
• freely express their views, verbally or in writing, privately or publicly, in print or broadcast media, or in social media platforms that now exist or may hereafter be developed about homosexuality, bisexuality, and on transgenders and queers according to their religious beliefs and practices and to biblical principles and standards.

Likewise, Abante’s bill prohibits the following:

• preventing, prohibiting, abridging, or otherwise interfering with the free exercise and enjoyment by heterosexuals of any of their rights;
• attempting to prohibit, abridge, or otherwise interfere with the free exercise and enjoyment by heterosexuals of any of their rights under this Act;
• threatening, directly or indirectly, in any form, a homosexual for exercising any of his/ her rights under this Act.

Abante said that since the LGBTQI community is clamoring for legislation protecting their rights in defiance of God's law of creation and procreation, a similar measure protecting heterosexual rights must be passed.

He was referring to the SOGIE bill which seeks to penalize discrimination committed against the LGBTQI community. These instances of discrimination include:

• denying access to public services, including military service, to any person on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression;
• refusing admission or expelling a person from any educational institution on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression;
• imposing disciplinary sanctions or penalties harsher than customary on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression; and
• denying a person access to public or private medical services open to the general public on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, among others.

“These [SOGIE] bills not only recognize, but worse, promote and give reward to 'genders' not created by God. Any gender, gender identity or gender expression outside of God's creation is man's choice and creation. If, therefore, we seek to 'grant' and/ or 'protect'  rights  to  homosexuals, bisexuals, transgenders and queers, in the spirit of justice, equity and fair play, we must also 'grant' and/ or 'protect' rights to heterosexuals who are the actual and direct creations of God,” Abante added.

Abante's bill states that violation of the proposal will be penalized  with imprisonment  of five to seven years and a fine of P100,000 to P200,000.

If the offender is a public official, he/she will, in addition to the foregoing penalties, be dismissed from employment and perpetually disqualified from holding any public office, the proposed bill says. His or her monetary benefits will also be forfeited in favor of the government.

Abante then said that his proposal is in accordance with the constitutional provisions on separation of Church and State, freedom of religion, free speech and expression and equal protection of the law.

“In the light of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly requested,” he added. —KG, GMA News