Cheers to England and Wales!

With the Royal Assent given by Queen Elizabeth II yesterday, England and Wales have now joined a growing number of countries, states, and territories where same-sex marriage is legal.

This good news comes almost at the heels of developments in the United States where their Supreme Court struck down Section 3 of DOMA for being unconstitutional, paving the way for federal benefits for same-sex couples in the U.S. The same Supreme Court also dismissed an appeal against the overturning of Proposition 8 in California, making same-sex marriage again legal in the Golden State.

Going back to the United Kingdom, it’s not a yet a home run since Scotland has yet to follow suit (hopefully in 2014), and Northern Ireland, with its deeply religious population, is currently staunchly against same-sex marriage. Yet, I’m quite happy (and gay) as every bit of good news helps.

Now let’s see if the new Philippine Congress will be able to finally pass the full Anti-Discrimination Law, one that includes provisions against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. (I know it’s a bit sad that while other countries are already passing same-sex marriage laws, here in the Philippines, we have yet to criminalize LGBT discrimination. But baby steps....)