SAME SEX MARRIAGE

By: Judge Amelia J. Tria-Infante (ret.)

Same sex marriage also known as gay marriage is marriage between people
of the same sex either as a secular civil ceremony or in a religious sector setting.
In the book of Genesis, in our Holy Bible 1:26-28;
Then God said: And now we will make human beings, they will be like
us and resemble us, they will have power over the fish, the birds and
all animals, domestic and wild, large and small. So God created human
beings making them to be like himself. He created them male and
female
blessed them and said; Have many children, so that your descendants
will
live all over the earth and bring it under their control. I am putting you
in
charge of the fish, the birds and all the wild animals.
Article 1 of the Family Code of the Philippines provides:
Art. 1. Marriage is a special contract of permanent union between a man and
a woman entered into in accordance with law for the establishment of conjugal and
family life. It is the foundation of the family and an inviolable social institution whose
nature, consequences and incidents are governed by law and not subject to
stipulation, except that marriage settlements may fix the family relations during the
marriage within the limits provided by this Code.
In the opinion of our new Pope Francis, he said: If a homosexual person is of
good will and is in search of God, I am no one to judge... It is not right to interfere
spirituality in the life of a person. Pope Francis further wrote, A marriage (made of
man and woman) is not the same as the union of two people of the same sex. To
distinguish is not to discriminate but to respect differences... At a time when we
place emphasis on the richness of pluralism and social and cultural diversity, it is a
contradiction to minimize fundamental human differences. A father is not the same
as a mother. We can not teach future generation that preparing yourself for planning
a family based on a stable relationship between a man and a woman is the same as
living with a person of the same sex.
Catholic priests and Charismatic lay leaders are not in favor of same sex
marriage, for the union of man and woman is for procreation. At the Bible said,
Have many children, so that your descendants will live all over the earth and bring it
under their control. I am putting you in charge of the fish, the birds and all the wild
animals.
Among our law law students majority are likewise not in favor of same sex
marriage; even gays and lesbians are allegedly against same sex marriage; they
believed it is a sin, contrary to law, morals and public policies.

The first law providing for marriage of people of the same sex in modern times
was enacted in 2001 in Netherlands. As of June 2015, thirteen countries (Argentina,
Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Iceland, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Spain,
South Africa, Sweden and Uruguay and certain sub jurisdictions ( parts of Denmark,
Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, The United Kingdom and the United States
allow same sex couples to marry. Similar law in Finland, Ireland, and Slovenia are not
yet in force. Polls show rising support for legally recognizing same sex marriage in
the Americas, Australia and most of Europe. However as of 2015, South Africa is the
only African country where same sex marriage is legal and none of the Asian
countries have legalized same sex marriage.
By majority opinion, the Philippines while tolerated, still cannot accept and is
not yet ready for same sex marriage.
From the spiritual point of view in the Book of Genesis, God created male
and female and from the legal side the Family Code provides a special contract of
permanent union between a man and a woman.
And so therefore both spiritually and legally, strictly speaking, there can never
as yet be a same sex marriage in the Philippines.

Reference: Wikepedia