yertle-the-turtle
ONE love, blood, life
Recently there was an extensive review of the Penal Code (the first in a long time), that decriminalised Section 377, which made consensual anal and oral sex legal in Singapore due to the fact this was an archaic law. There was a helluva furore a few years ago when a policeman was charged in court for what was consensual oral sex although it later transpired that the girl was actually underaged at the time. At any rate, that's the only time I recall it ever being enforced.
The problem with the law, though, was a sub-section, 377A. This made sex acts between males a crime. The government chose to keep this law amid protests from the gay lobby, but with the caveat that it would not be actively enforced.
Before Parliament sat yesterday Nominated MP Siew Kum Hong (a straight man) began a campaign to repeal 377A, a campaign that included an online petition and an open letter to the Prime Minister. There was a massive Internet campaign in support of Siew's efforts, and the website can be viewed here http://www.repeal377a.com
The problems began when the so-called 'silent majority' spoke up and formed a counter website http://www.keep377a.com . According to a very recent Nanyang Technological University study 70% of Singaporeans do not accept homosexuality. Using this as a basis, the 'silent majority' amassed 15000 signatures (as opposed to the 2000 odd for the repeal 377a side). The issue was debated in Parliament yesterday.
I wonder why this country, the same country I'm devoting two years of my life to protect, a country where I hope to serve soon in the teaching service, a country where I pledged "regardless of race, language or religion, to build a democratic society based on justice and equality" constantly comes up with excuses to make homosexuals second class citizens. In the 1970s men with long hair were forced to stand at the back of queues - indeed, rather humourously, Led Zeppelin were disallowed from disembarking at the airport due to their hirsuteness! The playwright Alfian Sa'at wrote about a friend of his who was denied a job with the Education Ministry after revealing he was gay. A gay teacher with eight years of experience and countless testimonials to his good character from former and current students was recently forced to take down his (beautifully written) blog post stating he was gay after a public outcry from parents. And now we have this, where people write in to the newspapers and post online that homosexuality is not a right, family values etc. etc.
A lot has been said about our Asian society, although that's bullshit, considering Kazakhstan, Japan and Myanmar are all in Asia and all of them have different cultures and values. We are one of the more progressive nations on our continent. Our economy is strong, our crime rate is low, our education system highly advanced. So I don't understand why we have to fall back on our mythical Asian conservative values to exclude people from their right to love.
The problem with the law, though, was a sub-section, 377A. This made sex acts between males a crime. The government chose to keep this law amid protests from the gay lobby, but with the caveat that it would not be actively enforced.
Before Parliament sat yesterday Nominated MP Siew Kum Hong (a straight man) began a campaign to repeal 377A, a campaign that included an online petition and an open letter to the Prime Minister. There was a massive Internet campaign in support of Siew's efforts, and the website can be viewed here http://www.repeal377a.com
The problems began when the so-called 'silent majority' spoke up and formed a counter website http://www.keep377a.com . According to a very recent Nanyang Technological University study 70% of Singaporeans do not accept homosexuality. Using this as a basis, the 'silent majority' amassed 15000 signatures (as opposed to the 2000 odd for the repeal 377a side). The issue was debated in Parliament yesterday.
I wonder why this country, the same country I'm devoting two years of my life to protect, a country where I hope to serve soon in the teaching service, a country where I pledged "regardless of race, language or religion, to build a democratic society based on justice and equality" constantly comes up with excuses to make homosexuals second class citizens. In the 1970s men with long hair were forced to stand at the back of queues - indeed, rather humourously, Led Zeppelin were disallowed from disembarking at the airport due to their hirsuteness! The playwright Alfian Sa'at wrote about a friend of his who was denied a job with the Education Ministry after revealing he was gay. A gay teacher with eight years of experience and countless testimonials to his good character from former and current students was recently forced to take down his (beautifully written) blog post stating he was gay after a public outcry from parents. And now we have this, where people write in to the newspapers and post online that homosexuality is not a right, family values etc. etc.
A lot has been said about our Asian society, although that's bullshit, considering Kazakhstan, Japan and Myanmar are all in Asia and all of them have different cultures and values. We are one of the more progressive nations on our continent. Our economy is strong, our crime rate is low, our education system highly advanced. So I don't understand why we have to fall back on our mythical Asian conservative values to exclude people from their right to love.