Kasal, a must-see film

If you have the time, do go and watch Kasal, a Cinemalaya 2014 film that started its commercial screening last Wednesday, February 18. I was able to watch it during its Cinemalaya run last August thanks to a friend's post on Facebook, and I was not disappointed. I didn't watch any of the other Cinemalaya films back then so I can't say if Kasal deserved its Best Film Award under the Director's Showcase category, but it's pretty good.

The film was co-written and directed by Joselito Altarejos, the filmmaker whose gay-themed films are among the best I've seen from the local fare. Of his previous films, I really liked Ang Laro sa Buhay ni Juan (see my review) and Ang Lihim ni Antonio, though I was quite disappointed with Little Boy, Big Boy. Good thing Kasal was as good as the former.

Kasal tells the story of Paolo and Sherwin, a gay couple played by Oliver Aquino and Arnold Reyes respectively. As stated in the film's synopsis, the couple contemplate the future of their relationship even as they attend the wedding of Sherwin's younger sister in the province. Paolo, a director, wants to take their relationship to the next step while Sherwin, a closeted lawyer, is not quite open to the idea. He even introduces Paolo to his family as just a good friend in-charge of the wedding videography.

What I liked about the film is its slightly subtle political message. Kasal juxtaposes the struggle for legal recognition of gay marriage with the notions of “traditional” marriage. As you might have guessed, Sherwin’s younger sister is getting married because she got pregnant with her boyfriend even though both are not yet prepared to raise a family. Later on, we see a commitment ceremony between two men who are both clearly love each other but whose union is not accorded legal benefits. Even more interesting is the fact that Arnold specializes as an annulment lawyer. He gets first-hand look at how the lack of divorce in the Philippines leads to a lot of unhappiness (and that may have colored his noncommittal behavior).

Political message aside, I also liked how the film depicts Sherwin and Paolo’s relationship as realistic and relatable as possible. Much praise should be given to the two lead actors, especially perennial indie actor Reyes, though relative newcomer Aquino did a superb job as well.

If there is only one thing that I have to nitpick, then it would be the long sex scene near the beginning. While it was done quite realistically and tastefully at the same time (and my eyes definitely appreciated it), I didn't quite see the point. It was done in one long take of about 10 minutes when it could have been shortened without detracting from the story.

Overall, the film does justice to gay relationships and I would consider it a must-see. The acting is great, the story is moving, and it takes a nice jab at the state of the institution of marriage in our country.

“More happiness!!”

“More happiness!!” That’s what two people said when asked what marriage equality meant for them as the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 came into force in England and Wales last Saturday after being passed into law last year. And I agree. The fact that the state recognizes that two people are in love and confers them benefits regardless of their gender is surely a joyous thing.

To celebrate the occasion, Buzzfeed has posted 52 very heartwarming photos of the first day of marriage equality in the United Kingdom, including the photo above. I especially liked photo #14 which shows a Muslim woman at a ceremony, and photos #20 to #24 featuring Andrew and Neil, showing that it’s never too late to get married.

This historic milestone comes less than two months after Scotland also passed their marriage equality bill last February 4. This leaves Northern Ireland as the only major territory in the United Kingdom where same-sex marriage is illegal. Unfortunately, the religious Northern Irish are not looking to follow England, Wales, and Scotland anytime soon.

But still, this milestone is very welcome news. More happiness? Indeed.

“Same Love” at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards

Last year, I blogged about Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ song “Same Love”, a pro-gay marriage song that has been getting some airtime in local radio stations. Well, the song got nominated for the Song of the Year Award at the recent Grammy Awards, but they lost to Lorde’s “Royals”. Still, the hip hop duo won a total of four Grammys, namely, Best New Artist, Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song (both for “Thrift Shop”), and Best Rap Album (The Heist).

What’s more notable is that “Same Love” was performed during the awards night with Mary Lambert (the featured vocalist on the song), Queen Latifah, and Madonna, who sang her song “Open Your Heart”. In the middle of the performance, Queen Latifah, who had been deputized by the Los Angeles County, officiated the weddings of 33 straight and gay couples standing in the audience, including Lewis’ sister who married her boyfriend. I guess it was the first ever mass wedding held in any awards show and one that featured same-sex couples!

You can watch the performance below:

2013 is a banner year for same-sex marriage

As we celebrate 2013 with a bang, I’d like to look back and see how same-sex marriage has been adopted all over the world during the past year. Back in July, I congratulated England and Wales for allowing same-sex marriage for its citizens starting on March 29, 2014. England and Wales joined Uruguay, New Zealand, and France in recognizing same-sex marriage this year bringing the total number of countries where same-sex marriage is allowed to 15.

But the greatest triumph is in the United States. Over the past 12 months, nine states either passed legislation, had court rulings, or had popular votes allowing same-sex marriage in their territories. These are Rhode Island, Delaware, Minnesota, California, New Jersey, Hawaii, Illinois, New Mexico, and Utah. These series of recognition has effectively doubled the number of states and territories in the United States where same-sex marriage is allowed. The other states and territories where same-sex marriage is already allowed are Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, Washington, D.C., New York, Maine, Maryland, and Washington. In addition, the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was effectively struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013 thus allowing same-sex couples federal benefits such as insurance and social security.

The map below show the current state of same-sex laws in the United States with blue states for and red states against.

Among the states that started allowing same-sex marriage in 2013, the most notable are California and Utah. California’s Supreme Court previously ruled in 2008 that same-sex marriage is permitted in that state. However, Proposition 8 was narrowly passed by voters later that year which stated that marriage can only be heterosexual. Predictably, this set off a series of court cases resulting in the overturning of Prop 8 in 2010. This was appealed and the appellate court affirmed the decision. Finally, the case was brought to the U.S. Supreme Court which dismissed the case last June 26. After 5 years of wrangling, California finally joined the growing list of states where same-sex marriage is recognized.

The case of Utah is quite curious. Utah, where the very conservative Mormon Church (aka Latter-Day Saints) has considerable influence, had previously passed in 2004 a state constitution amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Due to a court case, a federal district judge ruled last December 20 that this amendment was unconstitutional with respect to the U.S. Constitution thus paving the way for same-sex marriages to be performed in Utah.

Pundits noted the irony of the situation because the Mormon Church had poured large amounts of money and resources into pushing for Proposition 8 in California. As mentioned earlier, Prop 8 was struck down earlier this year and now Utah itself allows same-sex marriage. The Republican Utah administration had already started the appeals process and we will see where the legal dance will take Utah in the years to come. Hopefully, like California, Utah will ultimately allow same-sex marriage with finality.

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....)

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis feat. Mary Lambert – Same Love

I’ve heard of the song “Same Love” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis back in May when a friend shared a YouTube video on Facebook. I though that it was a pretty great song that was unabashedly pro-LGBT rights.

So imagine my surprise when I heard the song playing on a local radio station last night. I guess some higher up decided to add it to the station’s playlist. However, I think that the song’s message was entirely lost on the two straight guy DJs that were on that night. I don’t think these two were homophobic but I didn’t think they really listened to the song. They didn’t go into a social commentary and instead focused on the final verses of the song that quoted 1 Corinthians 13:4, “Love is patient, love is kind.”

Still, it was a nice highlight of last night. It’s little things like these that put a smile to my face.

Clinton + Callum

I just saw this great wedding video featuring Clinton and Callum, a gay couple from Australia. (While Australia does not recognize gay marriage (yet), our friends from Down Under do enjoy some form of domestic partnership.)

The video certainly brought tears to my eyes and I loved seeing them surrounded by family and friends as they vowed to become “partners for life.” And since the video is on Vimeo, we are spared the usual hateful comments that permeate similar videos on YouTube. That both Clinton and Callum are good-looking, is just icing on the cake.

I hope this brightened up your day!

Washington passes same-sex bill into law!

Right at the heels of the very good news in California, on February 13, the state of Washington has just signed into law a measure granting and recognizing same-sex marriage in the northwest Pacific state (that newly-colored dark blue spot in the upper-left corner of the map above). Assuming the new law hurdles an initiative and a referendum pushed by gay-marriage opponents against it later this year, Washington will join six other states in the U.S. (Iowa, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York) and Washington, D.C. in celebrating same-sex marriage when the law comes into effect on June 7 later this year.

Way to go Washington! And just in time for Valentine’s Day! But the road to equality is still long as seen by the number of red states shown in the map above where same-sex marriage is constitutionally banned. But I agree with what Sen. Ed Murray, a Democrat from Seattle has to say: “No matter what the future holds, nothing will take this moment in history away from us.”

The overturning of California’s Proposition 8 affirmed!

Over 3 years ago, voters in the U.S. State of California narrowly passed Proposition 8, a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. The amendment had added the following clause to their state’s constitution: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” I had expressed my dismay back then.

Proposition 8 was of course challenged, and after being upheld in May 2010 by the California Supreme Court, U.S. Federal Judge Vaughn R. Walker overturned it in August 2010. This was then appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals.

The latest development happened on February 7, 2012, when the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the overturning of Prop 8. In a 2-1 decision, the judges of the Ninth Circuit said:

“Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples.”

“The People may not employ the initiative power to single out a disfavored group for unequal treatment and strip them, without a legitimate justification, of a right as important as the right to marry.”

What a great piece of news! And this comes after New York passed a same-sex bill last year. Unfortunately, a stay against full repeal of the amendment still continues pending appeals to either the full Ninth District Court or the U.S. Supreme Court and that means that California still cannot issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Nevertheless, the fact that U.S. federal judges struck down Prop 8 is still good news. And just in time for Valentine’s Day!

New York passes same-sex marriage bill!

While I already blogged about the landmark UN resolution a few days ago, I couldn’t resist blogging about another really good news (thanks to an anonymous comment), this time coming from the United States. Last Friday night in New York (Saturday morning in the Philippines), with a vote of 33-29, the state of New York has passed the Marriage Equality Act, recognizing marriages between people of the same sex. This law makes New York the 6th U.S. state currently recognizing same-sex marriage along with Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Washington, D.C. California used to recognize same-sex marriage but Prop 8 killed it in 2008 (though it’s currently under legal wrangling as of now).

Discreet Manila joins the New Yorkers in celebrating this historic milestone. And what great timing this is! This week marks the 42nd anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York City, which is considered as the birth of the modern gay rights movement. That’s the reason why LGBT people everywhere celebrate June as the Pride Month.

Here’s to more good news in the coming years!

California’s Proposition 8 overturned!

I was saddened to hear last year that Californians voted to adopt Proposition 8, or the ballot that amends the State Constitution to “Eliminate Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry,” in last year’s election. Since that election, various legal actions have taken place and the next milestone happened on May 25 when the California Supreme Court unfortunately upheld Prop 8 but thankfully said that existing same-sex marriages were still valid.

Well, the latest volley in this struggle for same-sex marriage in California occurred this past week. Bypassing the state level, U.S. Federal Judge Vaughn R. Walker overturned Prop 8 saying that it was unconstitutional with respect to the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, notably the Equal Protection Clause. While this is good news, the judge chose to stay his ruling (meaning, California can’t issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples just yet) until the ruling is appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals. Whatever the decision in the Court of Appeals, the case will definitely go to the U.S. Supreme Court.

This is the first time that the same-sex legal debate within California spilled out to the national level. It’s a certainty that whatever happens in this California-initiated same-sex debate (which started when San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples back in 2004) will greatly affect the course of same-sex marriages in the United States and the world. I’m looking forward to seeing the results of within the next few years.

Of course, none of this remotely matters here in the Philippines. But I’m guessing it’s all just a matter of time. Why? I’ve read the interesting idea that our great-grandparent’s generation were sexist (discriminating against women) and our grandparent’s generation were racist (discriminating against non-white people, notably blacks). This idea was extended to say that our parent’s generation were homophobic. Generations are increasingly becoming more liberal and so I’d like to think that societal acceptance of homosexuality is really just a matter of time.

On California’s Proposition 8

The recently held United States election was a bittersweet affair. On the one hand, I’m really, really glad that Sen. Barrack Obama was overwhelmingly elected as President of the United States. On the other hand, I’m extremely saddened by the fact that propositions to amend three state constitutions to ban gay marriage in California, Arizona, and Florida passed or are passing. I’m especially disheartened with outcome in California, perceived as one of the most liberal states in the States. Proposition 8, or the ballot that “Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry,” is currently passing with a little over 52% of the votes; only a simple majority is needed to pass a constitutional amendment and the official result will be released on December 9.

California’s Prop 8 has been said by pundits to be the highest-funded campaign in the United States on the November election next to the presidential race. There’s plenty of ads, posters, and rallies that have been conducted for and against Prop 8. Even Google has released an official company statement against the proposition. There are plenty of videos uploaded to YouTube, but this No to Prop 8 video is the most heartwarming I've seen:

But hope (and love) is not lost. Social trends show (based on past legal-based initiatives in California) that it’s only a matter of time before Prop 8 will be overturned.

As a final food for though regarding this whole gay marriage issue, I’ll leave you with this Slate article titled “Privatize Marriage” by David Boaz, which says that the simple, although hard-to-implement, solution to the gay marriage debate is to make marriages private, like it used to be centuries ago.