Singapore to Decriminalize Gay Sex

metroweekly.com:

Singapore will move to decriminalize gay sex while increasing prohibitions against same-sex marriage, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced in his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, August 21.Section 377A of Singapore’s Penal Code, a law implemented by the country’s British colonial government in 1938, criminalizes sex between men.

Today, even consensual, private sex between adult men in Singapore remains legally punishable by up to two years in prison.Parliament will now repeal 377A, Loong said.

But he also made clear he still sees Singapore as “broadly conservative” and dependent on “traditional” family structures.“[Gay people] are our fellow Singaporeans.

They are our colleagues, our friends, our family members,” Loong said. “We need to find the right way to reconcile and accommodate both the traditional mores of our society and the aspiration of gay Singaporeans to be respected and accepted.”Same-sex marriage is already illegal in Singapore.