BY JONAS LUMOGDANG, Capiz LGBTQIAP+
THIS IS a response to a school that considers homosexuality immoral. Do our laws allow the exclusion of students on the basis of their chosen sexual identity and orientation?
It is unlawful for a religious school to impose such policy. This practice makes the school a hostile environment instead of being a source of our meaning and identity.
If nothing else, such policy stigmatizes students, makes them vulnerable to mockery, prevents them from seeking support should they need it, and deprives students a safe learning environment.
The International Convention on the Rights of the Child stresses that the best interest of the child be the primary consideration for all actions of public and private social welfare and learning institutions. In other words, the best interest of the child is the primary consideration in prohibiting discrimination in any form.
The school’s move undermines a number of fundamental human rights, including LGBT students’ rights to education, personal security, freedom from discrimination, access to information, and free expression, among others.
Schools are primary vehicles for educating one another about full respect to human dignity and equal rights. They should be a safe place for everyone.
Homosexuality is a moral issue only to the extent that it is a matter of choice. People can choose to act in accordance with their nature, and since sex is essential to life and happiness, this is a moral issue. It is morally right for people to act in accordance with their nature, whether heterosexual, homosexual, or anything in between./PN
