Goodbye Section 377A.

Pink Dot on June 29, 2019.

At this year's National Day Rally, the Prime Minister finally announced the repeal of Section 377A of the Penal Code. I blinked, for I've never heard the word 'sex' uttered so many times and at this frequency by our Prime Minister in a public speech addressing the nation. 

I'm relieved to hear that Section 377A is repealed. It's about bloody time. It's a win in the sense that our government has been reluctant to do something about it because of the conservative voices. Now, it is the right decision to repeal an archaic law that has no meaning in today's society, unless you're a religious fundamentalist or a right-wing moron. It's a dumb legal tussle.

Now, 15 years later, attitudes have shifted appreciably. While we remain a broadly conservative society, gay people are now better accepted in Singapore, especially among younger Singaporeans. It is timely to ask ourselves again the fundamental question: should sex between men in private be a criminal offence?

Singaporeans still have differing views on whether homosexuality is right or wrong. But most people accept that a person’s sexual orientation and behaviour is a private and personal matter, and that sex between men should not be a criminal offence. Even among those who want to retain s377A, most do not want to see it actively enforced, and criminal penalties applied. From the national point of view, private sexual behaviour between consenting adults does not raise any law-and-order issue. There is no justification to prosecute people for it, nor to make it a crime.

Furthermore, we have seen several court challenges to s377A, seeking to declare the law unconstitutional. None have succeeded, so far. However, following the most recent judgement in the Court of Appeal, the Minister for Law and the Attorney General have advised that in a future court challenge, there is a significant risk of s377A being struck down, on the grounds that it breaches the Equal Protection provision in the Constitution. We have to take that advice seriously. It would be unwise to ignore the risk, and do nothing.

For these reasons, the Government will repeal s377A and decriminalise sex between men. I believe this is the right thing to do, and something that most Singaporeans will now accept. This will bring the law into line with current social mores, and I hope, provide some relief to gay Singaporeans.

The repeal has to be done. But it is not a matter of great celebration. This is just the beginning of a long road to equal rights for all citizens of Singapore. Singapore wishes to continue in her economic, media, housing and social policies in using heterosexual marriages and traditional family structures and values to anchor the social norms. Fine. The majority has spoken. We're not ready for same-sex marriages, much less same-sex parents having children. I get that. There's a whole host of mind-boggling policies to deal with, including surrogacy, parental rights and whatnot. It's not a can of worms, it's just a massive administrative headache and political crater to step into. 

Section 377A was the first of many giant boulders on this long road to building the Singapore society we want. Therefore we must continue doing what we can to argue the case for equal recognition and rights for the LGBTQIA+ community, and the singles. Housing policies are what matters to everyone, and that's rather unfairly favoring heterosexual married couples. I feel like we've jumped right into a classic Faustian trap. 

What's scary now is, the Government intends to enshrine the definition of marriage (as only between a man and a woman) into the Constitution. My head exploded. If you don't understand why I say it's scary, have a read about it as a matter of law and legal clauses. That would make anyone's head burst. I would also like Singaporeans to have a think about whether legalizing same-sex marriages would threaten heterosexual marriages. If you fuck up your own heterosexual marriage because you're a dumbass, that's on you.

We still need people not to discriminate or ostracize the LGBTQIA+ for their sexual inclinations and romantic relationships. Which relationship doesn't need work? Which relationship doesn't need faith and commitment? At the end of the day, we're all humans. We're not lesser humans based on society's definitions of race/class/caste/wealth or because of another's debasement. We need to rise above these petty judgments of our fellow humans.