On May 23, 2015, citizens in Ireland voted heavily in favour of legalising same-sex marriage. On June 27 the same year, the United States Supreme Court ruled that gay couples could marry.

There are now 20 countries in which such unions are legal. On May 24 this year, Taiwan legalised same-sex marriage, becoming the first country in Asia to do so. On July 1, Pink Dot Singapore, the republic’s most prominent LGBTQ support group, literally painted the town pink, and then, with rainbow colours during a rally that drew 20,000 people.

Back in 2015, when Facebook was flooded with rainbow-filtered profile pictures, I was unpleasantly surprised to see some of my friends declaring their dismay that “God’s laws are no longer being followed” and “the unnatural has become the norm”. More interestingly, however, was their defensive tone.

One began his post as such: “I am so sorry to be seen as traditional, or backwards-thinking, but…”. One of the comments was: “I agree! I am so sick of people making fun of me for not being progressive or liberal…”.

The homophobes were the ones who felt like the minority, being outcasts simply because of who they are and what they believe in. The bigots anxiously crawled out of hiding, full of trepidation at how their friends and family might react to the news that they do not support gay rights.

Oh, the irony. To me, it was hilarious to see the tables being turned, albeit briefly.

However, the argument then, and now, has not changed. Let’s see if we can quickly debunk two major ones.

‘Homosexuality is unnatural!’, ‘Homosexuality is a choice!’

Firstly, homosexuality abounds in nature. There are more than 130 species of birds that are gay (I bet you the flamingos are knee deep in that).

There is an entire book written on homosexuality among animals, aptly titled Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity.  

Secondly, science has found no link to sexuality being a choice. In fact, a 2014 study in the Psychology Journal found that a gene on the X chromosome, called Xq28, and a gene on chromosome 8 are more likely to be found in gay men, thus, suggesting that sexuality is something we are born with.

And come on, if being gay is a choice, then being straight must be a choice, too. If you are straight, go on and try your best to be gay, just for a minute. Try and imagine kissing a person of the same sex.

‘Same-sex marriage denies the child a mother and a father!’

Hey, guess who had heterosexual parents and the benefits of having both father and mother?

Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, the politicians stealing our country’s resources, the guy who cut you off in the middle of the road during rush hour and Michael Bay prove that monsters can be bred from a “traditional” upbringing.

Oh, and guess what? Children raised by same-sex couples are reportedly happier and healthier, according to a 2014 study by the University of Melbourne, which looked at 315 same-sex parents and 500 children.

In fact, I will submit that if and when gay couples get to have children, via adoption, surrogacy or other methods of insemination, the children will be more cherished and valued, if only because of the extra hurdles that their parents had to overcome to have them.

A child blessed with same-sex parents will always be wanted. After all, 100% of unwanted teen pregnancies and 100% of baby-dumping cases are not from same-sex relationships.

It is important for those of us who believe in gay rights to speak up loudly for our gay brothers and sisters. Right now, there are kids and teenagers who are either silent in their anguish, or being bombarded by friends and family over their “affliction” with insensitive urges to “pray the gay away” or “convert back to normal”.

It is important for them to know that being homosexual is like vanilla or chocolate; it’s just another flavour.

And to those of you who still believe that homosexuality is wrong,I will leave you with a quote by Victor Hugo: “No army can stop an idea whose time has come.”

The idea of treating homosexuals and, by extension, the rest of the LGBTQ community as equals has come now.

History will judge us, as it is wont to do.

There were once scholars who thought the sun circled the Earth, businessmen who used slavery as an economic tool and politicians who deemed women unworthy of voting.

We look back at those misguided people now with derision and disbelief.

Our future generations will read about the struggle for homosexuals to be equal, which is taking place here and now.

Decades into the future, they will read about people opposing this, and they will view those afflicted with homophobia with the same derision and disbelief that we now heap upon the believers of a geocentric Earth, slave owners and sexists.

Unprogressive and irrational, clinging to a paradigm past its time.

As comedian and Daily Show correspondent Hasan Minhaj said in a Netflix interview, addressing white people and the issue of race and equality: “You have a rare opportunity to be a Trojan horse of justice, right now. Because the reality of the situation is, justice will be served at some point in time, and your children and grandchildren are going to ask you about it. Like, ‘mum, dad, did you march with them? Did you retweet that?’ And it’s your choice! Are you going to make the right choice?”

It is this writer’s firm belief that while our sexuality is inherently not a choice, being supportive of our gay friends is, indeed. We just have to make that choice.

#LoveWins – July 25, 2017.

* Dr Jason Leong is a stand-up comedian. Check out his channel at www.youtube.com/c/TheJasonLeongShow or “like” his Facebook page at fb.com/jasonleongcomedy.
 

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.