Singapore abolishes law criminalizing sex between men

[justseyi]

Singapore abolishes law criminalizing sex between men 

Singapore will abolish Section 377A, the colonial-era law banning sex between men. The decision, announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday, will essentially decriminalise gay sex in the city-state where advocacy groups have long been fighting for LGBTQ rights and equality.

 

 

The section in Singapore’s Penal Code has existed since 1938, when Singapore was a British colony. The inherited law punished sex between men with prison sentences for up to two years will no longer be effective in the Singapore law.

 

“I believe this is the right thing to do, and something that most Singaporeans will now accept,” Lee Hsien Loong said of the decision, as reported by Reuters.

 

Singapore now joins two other Asian countries, India and Taiwan to make progress when it comes to LGBTQ rights.

 

The government’s decision comes after tireless advocacy from LGBTQ groups, who are now celebrating this step in the right direction, but are disappointed that systemic discrimination against LGBTQ people remains unmoved in the city-state’s laws.

 

Lee stressed that the “traditional” definition of marriage will be enshrined in Singapore’s constitution, ensuring that same-sex marriage will not be legalised. This move appears to be an appeasement towards religious groups in Singapore who are opposing the repeal of Section 377A.

 

“We believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman, that children should be raised within such families, that the traditional family should form the basic building block of society,” Lee said. Following the prime minister’s announcement, the Education Ministry of Singapore said in a statement on Monday that sex education in schools will be rooted in “traditional values, and sensitive to the multiracial and multi-religious make-up of our society.”

 

The news of decriminalising same sex relationships is accepted by quiet a number of people, the other part where they aren’t allowed to marry causes some to bother.

 

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