Singapore’s parliament have removed Section 377A of their penal code, the section of the law that made homosexual activity illegal in the island state.
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced the decision to remove the laws back in August in his annual National Day Address. Now after a short debate the legislation to remove the laws has passed.
In the end only three politicians opposed the changes to the legislation, with 97 others voting in favour.
The section of the law the outlawed homosexuality was first introduced when the island nation was a British colony.
It has remained even place, even though Britain had removed the laws from their books back in the 1950’s and more recently have encouraged their former colonies to remove the legislation.
While the laws on homosexuality have been removed, at the same time parliament added a new clause to the country’s constitution that is designed to ensure that marriage can only been between heterosexual couples.
Local LGBTIQA+ community group Pink Dot said the debate in parliament had shown that politicians still had a lot to learn about the LGBTIQA+ community.
“As esteemed political leaders, it must be expected that in a public debate about LGBTQ+ issues, that they consult with LGBTQ+ people and conduct meaningful research.
“Importantly, they must be able to discern between the community’s lived experiences and fearful rhetoric that is more grounded in fiction than fact,” the group said.
OIP Staff
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