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Gays 'can't promote lifestyle'
23/10/2007 18:32 - (SA)
Singapore - Homosexuals in Singapore will be restricted from promoting gay lifestyles but otherwise are free to lead their lives, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Tuesday.
Lee made the remarks in parliament as he urged legislators to retain a law criminalising sex between males, amid a spirited campaign by gay rights activists and their supporters for it to be repealed.
In practice the law is not enforced aggressively, but the debate about it in parliament has been passionate, touching on family values, morality and the need for more acceptance of gay relationships.
Abolishing the law could "send the wrong signal" and push gay activists to ask for more, such as advocating same-sex marriages and parenting, Lee said of Section 377A of the Penal Code.
The government has proposed the most extensive amendments to the code in 22 years but wants the section on gay sex - which opponents say is a relic from British colonial rule - to remain.
The law makes sex between males a criminal offence punishable with up to two years in jail.
The best option
Gays "are free to lead their lives and pursue their social activities", the prime minister said.
"But there are restraints, and we do not approve of them setting the tone of mainstream society," he added, saying that Singapore remained largely conservative.
"They live their lives, that's their personal space. But the tone of the overall society, I think, it remains conventional, it remains straight and we want it to remain so."
Parliament was expected to vote later on Tuesday on the Penal Code amendments. An overwhelming majority of lawmakers voiced support for continuing the ban on homosexual sex.
Lee warned that the debate on whether to retain or repeal the law could escalate and polarise Singapore society. He said keeping the statute unchanged while not aggressively enforcing it remains the best option.
Singapore will adapt to global economic, technological and educational changes to stay competitive, but it must take a cautious approach when it comes to moral values, Lee said.
Marriage 'is dead'
"We were right to uphold the family unit when Western countries went for experimental lifestyles in the 1960s - the hippies, free love," he said.
"But I'm glad we did that because today if you look at Western Europe, the marriage as an institution is dead, families have broken down, the majority of children are born out of wedlock and live in families where the father and the mother are not husband and wife living together bringing them up."
Gay rights activists say the law against homosexual sex affects about 200 000 people in the city-state of more than four million.
- AFP
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