Colorful, filtered profile pictures are proliferating Facebook feeds to signify a “celebration of pride,” following a landmark US Supreme Court decision allowing same-sex marriage throughout US. The rainbow is widely used as a symbol of the LGBT community.
Through its “Celebrate Pride” application, Facebook allowed users to change their profile photos into rainbow-colored versions with ease.
Facebook founder Marc Zuckerberg said in various posts that the social networking site “is a proud supporter of Pride,” and that he rejoices with his friends and “everyone in the community who can finally celebrate their love.”
“Our country was founded on the promise that all people are created equal, and today we took another step towards achieving that promise,” said Zuckerberg.
In the Philippines, same-sex marriage is still deemed unlawful. But the recent US decision gives the Filipino LGBT community some hope.
Kim Arveen Patria, an LGBT rights advocate, said the US Supreme Court’s decision “takes the fight for gender equality forward by leaps and bounds.”
“It is true that the U.S. is not the world, but the world has its eyes on the U.S. The Philippine Supreme Court, for example, cites U.S. jurisprudence in many of its rulings. The case Obergefell v. Hodges gives me and many gender equality advocates hope. Changing our Facebook profile photos is a small manifestation of our overwhelming joy,” said Patria.
April Isiderio, married, and has one kid, said she joined the “Celebrate Pride” call because she believes “love is a choice.”
“These gay individuals should share the same choices like the rest of us. One's sexual preference should not be an issue. If you want to label your relationship and put it on paper, then the option should be the same for every kind,” she said.
CBCP's take on gay marriage
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines for its part maintained that marriage is a “permanent union of man and woman.”
“Fortunately for human persons, there is so much more to us and to our dignity than what the law prescribes,” said CBCP President, Archbishop Socrates Villegas.
He emphasized however that no Church official should “demand to know a person’s orientation.”
“All will continue to find welcome in the Church, while, under command from The Lord himself, will continue to teach what the Church has unceasingly taught,” Villegas added.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
