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Re: "We did not know" is not a good excuse

2016-04-07 00:58:47
No different from the many other anti-gay laws on books in many
countries including the US.

Actually, it is.  Our Supreme Court has been striking down
anti-gay legislation, not upholding it.  Right now it is the
law in Singapore that sexual contact between consenting adult
men is a criminal act.  The best way to clarify that Singapore
doesn't really mean it is to get rid of the law, along with
your other miscellaneous anti-gay laws.

There has not been, to the best of my knowledge, *anyone* who
has been charged in court under that rule (which I think is the
only rule there is) unless it was based on a report made by
one of the parties involved and it is usually under that offense
of rape or by parents (of minors involved). No one is going around
looking into bedrooms to see what is happening.

Again, no one who has participated in the pinkdot.sg event has,
to the best of my knowledge, been charged or penalised for
their orientation.

I live in Alaska, so I'm certainly sympathetic to the problem
of living in a place you love that does some things that are
very wrong and that are difficult to explain to people not from
there, and the embarrassment that sometimes goes with that.
But my own feeling is that the best way to deal with those
situations is to own them and to work for change.  I respect your
feelings about your country but I will not be attending a
meeting in Singapore unless the laws change.

It is a pity that you won't attend. I respect your stand and
principle. I feel that you are unfortunately making this more
of an issue than it really is in Singapore. Yes, we have prudes
(exclusively the religious sort[0]) who make it their problem
what consenting adults do based on their interpretation of
some fairy tale :-).

Singapore is far from perfect and we have our peculiarities. But
so does every society and country.

I would strongly encourage you to come to Singapore. I would
be more than happy to welcome you here. We need keep the
channels open and not closed. Then, and only then, will things
change for the better.

Harish
[0] 
http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/gay-lifestyle-against-bible-says-council-churches