Sgapore gay sex: untry to repeal lonial era law crimalizg sex between men, says prime mister | CNN

Contents:

• END OF SGAPORE'S GAY SEX BAN A 'SMALL STEP' FOR SOME LGBT UPL
• SGAPORE REPEALS GAY SEX BAN BUT LIMS PROSPECT OF LEGALIZG SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
• LGBTQ: THE PODST TELLG SGAPORE'S HIDN GAY STORI
• WHAT’S IT LIKE TO COME OUT AS GAY TO THE SAF?
• GAY WATER, A NEW NNED CKTAIL, WANTS TO BE THE ANTI-BUD LIGHT
• SGAPORE’S LATT RULG ON GAY SEX IS ‘COLD COMFORT,’ ACTIVISTS SAY
• FOR SGAPORE’S GAY MEN, REPEAL OF SEX BAN BRGS HOPE AFTER YEARS OF PA
• A YEAR AFTER SGAPORE DECRIMALIZED GAY SEX, ITS LGBT COMMUNY TURNS ATTENTN TO FAY
• CONSERVATIVE CALIFORNIA SCHOOL BOARD ADOPTS CURRICULUM CLUDG GAY RIGHTS AFTER SPAT WH ERNOR

END OF SGAPORE'S GAY SEX BAN A 'SMALL STEP' FOR SOME LGBT UPL

SINGAPORE, Aug 22 (Rters) - Sgapore's cisn to lift a lonial-era ban on sex between men is long overdue and will not end discrimatn of LGBT groups the nservative cy-state, rights activists and members of the gay muny said on announcement by Sgapore's prime mister to repeal the so-lled 377A law on Sunday me as he also said the ernment would take steps to prevent legal challeng that would allow same-sex marriag to be regnised.

5 though Sgapore's 377A, unr which offenrs n be jailed for up to two years, has not been enforced on nsentg adult mal for s, some relig groups wanted the statute to stay, fearg that s repeal may promote homosexualy and challenge tradnal fay a move to assuage some of those ncerns, Prime Mister Lee Hsien Loong said on Sunday his ernment would protect s fn of marriage, that of beg between a man and a woman, om beg challenged nstutnally the urts. Marriage equaly is important to many Sgapore's lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer (LGBTQ) muny, and "the doors to that possibily should not be closed", Choong 30 untri worldwi have legalised same sex marriage, wh Taiwan the only place Asia to do so. The mov e as other parts of Asia, cludg Taiwan, Thailand and India, are regnizg more rights for the lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr (LGBT) muny.

“We will try and mata a balance…to uphold a stable society wh tradnal, heterosexual fay valu, but wh space for homosexuals to live their liv and ntribute to society, ” Home Affairs Mister K. Sgapore’s Prime Mister Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday said the untry will repeal the lonial-era Sectn 377A of Sgapore’s Penal Co, thereby crimalizg gay sex Sgapore, but add that same-sex marriage will ntue to be illegal the cy-state. This will brg the law to le wh current social mor, and I hope, provi some relief to gay Sgaporeans, ” said the Prime Mister.

SGAPORE REPEALS GAY SEX BAN BUT LIMS PROSPECT OF LEGALIZG SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

It punish gay sex – even if is nsensual, between adults, and tak place privately – for up to two years of imprisonment. In Febary 2022, Sgapore’s Court of Appeal led that the sectn would rema the law, but nnot be enforced to prosecute men for havg gay sex.

LGBTQ: THE PODST TELLG SGAPORE'S HIDN GAY STORI

Lee said: “We need to fd the right way to rencile and acmodate both the tradnal mor of our society, and the aspiratn of gay Sgaporeans to be rpected and accepted. In June, Thailand edged closer to beg the first place Southeast Asia to legalize same-sex unns when lawmakers passed four different bills aimg to provi greater rights to gay upl, such as the abily to adopt children and manage assets jotly. They have started one of the first LGBTQ podsts Sgapore - where gay sex is still illegal.

Sgapore's ernment argu that the ban mt rema to reflect society's nservative views, and as a promise has said will not enforce the LGBTQ activists argue that as long as remas, perpetuat a stigma and fuels SG Boys tell the BBC about the challeng of livg as a gay person Sgapore, and how they hope their podst will spread love and empathy for their by Tsa Wong.

When Sgapore announced this week would end a lonial-era law that crimalized sex between men, looked like a big victory for gay rights advot the Southeast Asian untry.

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO COME OUT AS GAY TO THE SAF?

That’s bee as put an end to that law, the Sgapore ernment reerated s opposn to gay marriage.

Soon after announcg that nsensual gay sex would no longer be illegal, Prime Mister Lee Hsien Loong said his annual Augt rally speech that his ernment would “uphold and safeguard the stutn of marriage” – fed the Constutn as a unn between man and woman. At the same time, the cy-state is home to var evangelil mega church that preach agast homosexualy. Lee noted his speech that gay rights remas “a highly sensive and ntent” issue to nservativ the untry.

To gay rights activists, the ntug ban on same-sex marriage is a signifint blow. So while activists the LGBTQ (Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr, Queer) muny weled the repeal of the gay sex law, many were disappoted too. And that disappotment will only have epened wh the suggtn by some of Lee’s misters that not only would the ernment rema opposed to gay marriage – may even create extra hurdl to prevent people om seekg to challenge the marriage laws urt.

GAY WATER, A NEW NNED CKTAIL, WANTS TO BE THE ANTI-BUD LIGHT

Law mister K Shanmugam said an terview wh state media that Parliament, rather than the urts, would hold the power to fe marriage – effectively makg harr for people to legally challenge the ernment’s polici as several gay men have attempted recent years.

As associate law profsor Eugene Tan of the Sgapore Management Universy put : “Sgapore removed a law long regard as beg discrimatory towards gay men.

SGAPORE’S LATT RULG ON GAY SEX IS ‘COLD COMFORT,’ ACTIVISTS SAY

In 2012, Gary Lim and Kenh Chee, a gay uple who had been together for 15 years, challenged the law agast gay sex at Sgapore’s High Court.

“For , repealg (the gay sex law) was never about gay marriage,” the uple said. “I hope that the nservativ n one day see gay people are not dangero or a threat to them or their children. In 2001, an article entled “Unrstandg Homosexual Servicemen—A Case Study” appeared Counsel-Lk, the quarterly publitn of the SAF Counsellg Centre (SCC).

The article scrib her experience unsellg N, a 22-year-old “Che homosexual servg his Natnal Service as a clerk an army mp”. “I had wanted very much for N to choose a ‘straight’ life … I was sadned when he chose to rema as a gay after we had explored the challeng he would face as a homosexual.

FOR SGAPORE’S GAY MEN, REPEAL OF SEX BAN BRGS HOPE AFTER YEARS OF PA

In fact, as the unsellg relatnship strengthened, I enuraged N to attend a programme for homosexuals, n for the purpose of helpg gays change their sexual orientatn to one that is ‘straight’.

“I also felt hypocril when I assured N my acceptance and rpect for him, regardls of his cisn on whether he would rema gay, when my sire was for him to make a different cisn. “I am grateful to N who gave me the privilege to enter to his world of homosexualy, ” Lily nclus. “I have learnt much about the homosexual subculture and had challenged me to review my own worldviews and stereotyp.

They range om the closeted pre-enlistee worried about beg bullied the army, to gay men sharg their experienc clarg 302 (the official medil the SAF to classify gay men), to r fanatics who are “sred kena touched the dark” by their gay bunkmat. The most reliable and oft ced belongs to Lim Chi-Sharn, who meticuloly tailed the procs of g out as gay to his medil officer bee he, too, was trated by “[sketchy] word-of-mouth … rmatn available onle” and “wanted to partially fill this lack of publicly available rmatn by documentg [his] own experience”. Origally published 2002 on the email group SiGNeL (the Sgapore Gay News List), and later picked up by Fridae and Yawng Bread, his acunt is lengthy and worth readg full.

A YEAR AFTER SGAPORE DECRIMALIZED GAY SEX, ITS LGBT COMMUNY TURNS ATTENTN TO FAY

Chi-Sharn’s “officer t trag … [was] termated” after he disclosed his homosexualy;. Homosexualy is listed as an example of a “social problem” the medil claratn form (though, a later versn that I found, the phrase seems to have been altered to “social issue”);. Tan mentned that ‘sensive’ areas [ the ary] are probably out-of-the-qutn” to gay servicemen;.

CONSERVATIVE CALIFORNIA SCHOOL BOARD ADOPTS CURRICULUM CLUDG GAY RIGHTS AFTER SPAT WH ERNOR

Tan told Chi-Sharn that the SAF do not nsir homosexualy a mental illns. Tan also acknowledged that the SAF’s “‘Directory of Diseas” ntas entri on homosexualy and transsexualy. In an attempt to unrstand N, her client, better, Lily nstcted a mol of the potential problems gay servicemen may face.

Granted, the pronouncements are by one woman and do not necsarily reflect the motivatns unrpng SAF’s treatment of homosexual men. Therefore, is hard not to unrstand her article wh the larger ntext of stutnal polici regardg homosexualy the ary. In fact, “Brish ary officials saw an unexpected benef of allowg gays to serve openly—better retentn of qualified soldiers and sailors key posns.