Singapore Upholds Ban on Sexual Relations Between Men; Gay Rights Groups Criticize 'Discrimination'
Singapore has upheld its 76-year-old ban on sexual relations between men, explaining that the law has final say on such matters. The ruling has prompted a number of LGBT activist groups to call the decision discriminatory.
"Whilst we understand the deeply held personal feelings of the appellants, there's nothing that this court can do to assist them," the judges wrote in their ruling, according to Bloomberg News. "Their remedy lies, if at all, in the legislative sphere."
The ruling went against three men trying to overturn the law, known as Section 377A, which prohibits sexual relations between men.
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The law, which was introduced in 1938 during British colonial rule, states: "Any male who, in public or private, commits, or abets the commission of, or procures or attempts to procure the commission by any male person of, any act of gross indecency with another male person, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years."
The judges added: "Only one voice — and one voice alone — is relevant. It is the voice of the law, which represents the voice of objectivity."
Human Rights Watch called the ruling on Thursday a "major setback" for gay rights.
"The Supreme Court's decision is a terrible setback for homosexual people in Singapore who want to live their lives like everyone else, without government interference," said Boris Dittrich, advocacy director of the LGBT advocacy program at Human Rights Watch.
"The ruling tramples upon basic rights to privacy, equality, and non-discrimination."
BBC News noted that 14 local rights groups released a statement on Thursday saying the court missed an opportunity to show that Singapore was "a truly accepting, open and inclusive society."
The groups said that the law "gives carte blanche for discrimination and reinforces prejudice."
"To be viewed as equal in the eyes of the law ... is a right to which every Singaporean should be entitled, and not denied on the basis of whom they love," they added.
LGBT issues remain a notable point of debate in Singapore's multicultural and multireligious society, where Buddhists, Muslims, Christians and Taoists all make up prominent sections of the population.
Close to 6,000 attendees showed up dressed in white to a service at Faith Community Baptist Church in Singapore at the end of June to "make a stand for God's intended marriage and family," in response to the sixth annual Pink Dot, an event that celebrates the LGBT lifestyle.
"We are not pushing a religious issue on our nation; we are standing here on a social and moral issue," FCBC senior pastor Lawrence Khong said at the time. "Today, we wear white not because we want to preach to people, but [because] we want to share with them that we stand on the same moral ground that is healthy for our nation."
A survey by the Institute of Policy Studies released earlier this year indicates that close to 80 percent of the nation believes that sexual relations between two adults of the same sex is wrong, while 73 percent of respondents said they are against gay marriage.
