‘I am gay. I am normal.’

Bemz Benedito, managing director of Make Your Nanay Proud (MYNP) Foundation and former congressional nominee of Ladlad partylist, sent me this open letter going around online sites and blogs. I’m printing it en toto for all who care.

“My name is Rod.

I am 50 years old. I am in a 22-year relationship with my partner Sam.

I am gay. It is not a choice. It is not a lifestyle. It is NATURAL.

I am gay and I have a God — a merciful, compassionate and loving God. His name is Jesus Christ.

I am gay and I am not promiscuous. I haven’t had sex with 16 men and with brothers pimped by their father. I have a loving sex relationship with my partner. Oh, I do fall once in a while, as a human being — not because I am gay.

I am gay. I am not sick. The World Health Organization (WHO) has stricken out homosexuality in 1973 as a mental illness in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of the American Psychiatric Association (APA).

The United Nations (UN) statement on LGBT rights includes a condemnation of violence, harassment, discrimination, exclusion, stigmatization and prejudice based on sexual orientation and gender identity that undermine personal integrity and dignity. It also includes condemnation of killings and executions, torture, arbitrary arrest, and deprivation of economic, social and cultural rights on those grounds.

Thank you to the WHO and UN for saying that I am not sick even if they don’t know me. Although I have enough common sense to know what is sick and what is not.

I am gay. And I respect women.

I am gay and I am happy. But this is not just about me. I have a decent job in a bank. I work hard. But I know that millions of young LGBT people are not allowed to optimize their potentials because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. I know of young gays and lesbians who are not allowed to study and who continue to be barred in their schools of choice. I know of transgender women who are barred from public establishments. I know of LGBT people who are refused employment based on their sexual orientation and gender identity. I know of lesbians in the south who are forced to be “raped” by their parents as a form of “curative therapy” so that they are converted to heterosexuality. I even know of a friend who was brutally murdered because he was gay. And maybe you heard of the news of a young gay boy who was doused with boiling water by his father out of anger and frustration because he wanted his gay son’s sexual orientation and gender identity changed.

I am gay and happy — but this is not about me.

I have the choice to just keep silent in the comforts of my life and home but this doesn’t make it right.

I want every young gay person out there to know that he/she is okay.

I am gay and I am a proud child of God.

I am gay and you, too, can be proud.

I want young gay persons to know that no one has the right to bully or discriminate them.

I am gay and suicide is not an option.

DISCRIMINATION in all of its forms must stop!

I am gay and I am for the passage of the anti-discrimination bill that has languished in congress for the past 15 years.

I am gay and this is the least that I can do for my brothers and sisters.

I am gay and I say, I AM NORMAL!”

Dear Rod,

With your letter, I am even more convinced that sometime soon, genuine equality among all will prevail. It’s heartwarming to know that we have dedicated and passionate allies just as we have powerful adversaries. Here are what some global leaders and friends have to say about the LGBT.

President Barack Obama — “Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.”

Angelina Jolie — “I was open about it (bisexuality) because I wanted people to know that I had been with a woman. I spoke about it because I’d discovered something wonderful and I thought people should know my experience was very real, very normal.

“Of course. If I fell in love with a woman tomorrow, would I feel that it’s okay to want to kiss and touch her? If I fell in love with her? Absolutely! Yes!

“I love women and men equally and I see people and love as love, so I think it makes sense that a woman would know I’d appreciate and love her as much as I would a man.”

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon — “Let me say this loud and clear: Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people are entitled to the same rights as everyone else. They, too, are born free and equal. I stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them in their struggle for human rights.”

Archbishop Desmund Tutu, South Africa — “I would not worship a God who is homophobic and that is how deeply I feel about this.

“I would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven. No, I would say sorry, I mean I would much rather go to the other place.

“I am as passionate about this campaign as I ever was about apartheid. For me, it is at the same level.”

Hillary Clinton — “My own country’s record on human rights for gay people is far from perfect but gay rights and human rights are one and the same.”

Like you Rod, I too am gay and I too say, I am normal!