Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong Sunday announced the government’s plans to decriminalize sex between men, saying this was “the right thing to do and something that most Singaporeans will now accept.”
Specifically, Lee announced the repeal of Section 377A, which provides:
Any male person who, in public or private, commits, or abets the commission of, or procures or attempts to procure the commission by any male person of, any act of gross indecency with another male person, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 2 years.
While some activists praised the decision, others argued that LGBTQ+ rights in the country still have a long way to go. In particular, Singapore’s constitution still only recognizes marriage between a man and a woman. Lee stated since “many national policies rely upon this definition of marriage,” such as housing, education and adoption, Singapore “has no intention of changing the definition of marriage nor these policies.”
Lee announced that this definition of marriage will be protected from any constitutional challenge in the courts, stating on Twitter:
PM Lee: We will protect the definition of marriage, as contained in the Interpretation Act and the Women’s Charter, from being challenged constitutionally in the courts. We have to amend the Constitution to protect it, & we will do so.#NDR2022 #NDRsg
— leehsienloong (@leehsienloong) August 21, 2022
