Singapore to criminalize same-sex marriage but legalize gay sex

Singapore has announced that it will repeal colonial-era law by legalizing gay sex. Singapore’s state leader went on to say that the constitution will be amended to ensure that same-sex marriage remains prohibited by law.

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that for him, repealing the law “right thing to do now” and is something that more Singaporeans will accept.

“Private sexual behavior 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,” Lee said. “This will bring the law into line with current social mores, and I hope provide some relief to gay Singaporeans.”

“Like every human society, we also have gay people in our midst. They are our fellow Singaporeans. They are our colleagues, our friends, our family members. They too want to live their own lives, participate in our community, and contribute fully to Singapore,” Lee went on to say.

Lee did go onto say that there will be limitations and he vowed to protect how marriage is defined, what children are taught in schools and also what is shown in the media.

“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, and we will do so,” he said, according to his official Twitter account.

20 LGBTQ groups in Singapore came together and released a joint statement saying that the repeal is  “long overdue” and “a significant milestone and a powerful statement that state-sanctioned discrimination has no place in Singapore.”

The statement also addressed the government’s stance on same-sex marriage by saying “any move by the government to introduce further legislation or constitutional amendments that signal LGBTQ+ people as unequal citizens is disappointing. We urge the government not to heed recent calls from religious conservatives to enshrine the definition of marriage into the constitution.”