Colonial remnant falls – Singapore decriminalizes sex between men – News

• Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has announced that sex between men will be officially decriminalized in the future.
• The law makes no mention of women or diverse genders.
• At the same time, he reaffirmed the definition of marriage as a bond between a man and a woman.

Speaking at the annual National Day rally, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he believes it is the right thing to do now that most Singaporeans now accept it. Paragraph 377A was a holdover from the British colonial era.

This will bring the law into line with current societal conventions and I hope it will bring some relief to homosexuals in Singapore.

“Private sexual conduct between consenting adults does not pose a law and order problem. There is no reason to prosecute people for it or make it a crime,” Lee said. “This brings the law into line with current societal conventions and I hope it will bring some relief to gays in Singapore.”

Lee promised the repeal would be limited and would not upset traditional Singaporean family and societal norms, including how marriage is defined, what children are taught in schools, what is shown on television and how the public views it generally behaves.

He said the government will amend the constitution to ensure that allowing same-sex marriage cannot be constitutionally challenged. “Even if we repeal Section 377A, we will uphold and protect the institution of marriage,” Lee said. “We have to change the constitution to protect it. And we will. This will help us to lift paragraph 377A in a controlled and careful manner.”