Singapore finally lifts gay sex ban, but equal marriage won’t happen anytime soon

It’s a day LGBTQ+ activists have long dreamed of: Singapore’s controversial ban on colonial-era gay sex has been lifted.

But as many activists have foreseen over the years, there was a catch: Marriage equality is not coming anytime soon.

MPs voted to repeal Article 377A of the Penal Code, which makes sex between men punishable by imprisonment for up to two years.

Section 377A, enacted in 1938 during British rule, has not been enforced for 15 years and does not apply to women.

However, activists have long said that Section 377A is a symbol – and an apology for – the stigma and discrimination faced by LGBTQ+ Singaporeans.

The decision to finally strike the law off the books followed a 10-hour two-day debate in which 93 MPs in the People’s Action Party-dominated legislature voted in favor of the long-awaited move.

The ruling party refused to raise the whip and rejected calls by religious groups to allow MPs to vote individually.

Labor MPs Gerald Giam (Aljunied GRC) and Dennis Tan (Hougang) and MP candidate Hoon Hian Teck were the only three to vote against abolition.

However, government ministers defended the double-edged vote, making it clear that it was for the legislature, not the courts, to define marriage.

Speaking in parliament this week, Home Secretary K Shanmugam said: “We will try to find a balance… to maintain a stable society with traditional, heterosexual family values, but with room for homosexuals to live their lives and join contribute to society.”

However, Shanmugam insisted, “It’s about time we remove Section 377A. It humiliates and hurts gay people.

“Most gay people don’t harm others, they just want to live peacefully and quietly and be accepted as part of society just like any other Singaporean.”

There were mixed feelings about the mood among LGBTQ+ activists in Singapore. Relief that queers are free to have sexual relations, but frustration that a major hurdle is being put up for marriage equality.

Pink Dot, which organizes the country’s LGBTQ+ Pride rally, said today’s vote was the culmination of years of activist efforts.

The repeal of Section 377A would not have been possible without generations of activists, community groups, allies and legal teams addressing the constitutional challenges that led to the repeal of 377A, the organization said.

“Thank you for your efforts!”

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong first announced that he would amend his own opposition to the decriminalization of gay sex in August.

Although he stressed that he would both delete Article 377A and at the same time propose a constitutional amendment to define marriage as marriage between a man and a woman.

This, he said in a speech at the televised national day meeting, would be a kind of compromise between LGBTQ+ people and powerful religious groups.

“We will keep our family and marriage policies unchanged and uphold the prevailing norms and social values ​​of our society,” Hsien said.

However, LGBTQ+ activists saw it differently and saw it as a way to avoid going to court to declare the government’s ban on equal marriages unconstitutional.

And these conflicting feelings were also felt by Stonewall, a British LGBTQ+ campaign group.

Nancy Kelley, the charity’s CEO, told Metro.co.uk: “The news from the Singapore Parliament is a major breakthrough for gay and bisexual men in Singapore whose relationships are no longer a criminal offence.”

Kelley said she hopes the vote, amid a wave of Asian countries like India and Taiwan doing the same, can encourage even more people to do the same.

“But we are deeply disappointed that the Singapore legislature has simultaneously created another constitutional obstacle to progress towards marriage equality,” she added.

“At Stonewall, we stand with the Singaporean activists who have shown such incredible leadership and will continue our work as part of a global movement for change until all LGBTQ+ people are free to be themselves and live their lives to the fullest to live in trains. ”

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