Heart burn

Valentine’s day was a milestone for many of us, even for the unfortunate souls that were (temporarily) beauless, but one other milestone that it should be noted for was that this was the date when Section 377A of the Penal Code, that idiotic law in Singapore that penalizes gay sex, was heard by the Singapore High Court.

How this law came about, we don’t know except to conclude it is the product of British colonial rule.  Why this law still exists on the books, we don’t have to think deep, since it’s obviously the product of homophobia, however the Prime Minister or the Attorney General of Singapore seeks to defend it.

And when I say homophobia, I don’t even need to be inclusive and consider lesbians.  For what this law does, is criminalize sex between men, and not between women.  So Singaporean lesbians can go their merry lipsticked way, while Singaporean men have to tread carefully, whether in their Gucci loafers or their butch Doc Martens, when it comes to their sexual proclivities.

Of course, Singapore has come (out) a long way since, perhaps, twenty years ago, when its gay men were paranoid and refused to be seen in public with arms around shoulders or hugging each other.  (Remember when Rent, the musical, was nearly banned?)  All that has changed, with gay clubs in Chinatown and pride marches punctuating the yearly calendar.  Why?  Because the Singapore government isn’t expending any of its resources to enforce the law.  In fact, as I wrote a couple of years ago, the official thrust was to attract the pink dollar, the spending power of single gay men all over the world to boost tourism figures in this tiny nation.

So why even bother to keep this law in the statute books?  If the government wants to lure gay men to its borders, why criminalize what they do in the privacy of  their bedrooms?  Why defend it?  What’s their message: “it’s ok to be gay, just don’t act on it”?

Because, never you mind these apparent freedoms found in the glitzy clubs and the art circles.   Since the law exists, this piece of outdated legislation continues to serve as a constant overhanging threat, looming daily in the lives of gay men in Singapore.

As the Singapore Court of Appeals ruled in a related case, the law’s very  existence makes all the sexually active gay men in Singapore criminals: except they just haven’t been caught yet. (In their lingo: unapprehended felons).

The Attorney General tries to mumble some stuff about how homosexuality is still not accepted by a majority of the Singaporeans.  In a stunning example of argumentation guaranteed to give anyone heartburn, it also told the court the law does not discriminate against gay men, because even if a straight man or a bisexual man has sex with another man, then the straight or bisexual man would be prosecuted.  See?  No discrimination!

It also argued that lesbians aren’t prosecuted because “there is a scientifically-established difference between the public health risks associated with sex between men and sex between women. The former poses a substantially higher likelihood of transmission of sexually transmitted infections such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (“HIV”), as well as posing other health risks. By contrast, there have been no documented cases of HIV transmission arising from sex between women.”

Prime Minister Lee HsienLoong is even less persuasive, as he says “Why is that law on the books? Because it’s always been there and I think we just leave it.”   Well, gay couple Gary Lim and Kenneth Chee didn’t want to just leave it, as they filed a challenge to the law a few years ago.  After many twists and turns, that challenge finally saw arguments on the case being heard this heart’s day.

Maybe next Valentine’s, male couples can truly celebrate in the Lion City.