What's in 377A?

last SG · 2007-10-24T21:35:53+00:00

People have gotten tired of this thread and moved on. The last post prior to yours dates Nov 02. 6 days after blissfull silence, you post a comment. Even th...

Melvin Tan SG

Hi,

I noticed several discussions on Section 377A of the Penal Code but I have not seen the actual extract anywhere (unless I missed it). Here it goes.

Unnatural offences.
377. Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animals, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to fine.

Explanation.
Penetration is sufficient to constitute the carnal intercourse necessary to the offence described in this section.

Personally, I think the principle of enacting the law is understood as protecting health and hygiene but the sentence, I must say, is pretty harsh.

The other area that makes it hard to take a stand is whether the sexual preference of gays are inborn or "bred". It is ironically the same debate as whether intellect is nature or nurture. I think no one really has the answer.

Regards

kramnave SG

377A. Any male person 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 2 years.

Icemoon SG

I want to complain.

377A is letting lesbians off too lightly?

nonameguy SG

I was thinking that too but apparently whomever that drafted that law had that “gays = AIDS” thinking.

t_a_s SG

A380 can have oral and canal sex is repealed but 377A targets the gay and lesbian, that is not fare

reddressman SG

ORal sex and ANal sex... I am not gonna be so tactless as to say i dun like these activities lah.... up.but.then this also does not mean I do them. I only do windows (whatever that means). Wink

now, my only question is :

Is REPEALING, in any nano way, have anything related to the act of PROTESTing?
any takers on this question folks?

Clandestine SG

The degree of severity on this proposed comparison differs...i know....
But just humour me....simplify.

Law : Left handed people are hereby ordered to write with their right hand from here on end. Those who fail to do so will be jailed for a maximum penalty of two years.

Why? Research conducted in the 1920's shows that left handers are more prone to influenza and the majority are opposed to the common flu, citing it as inconvenient.

Clandestine SG

They are "protesting" the law and through protesting they are hoping for a "repeal" of said law.

reddressman SG

Was it true that in singapore until lately there was a law that can imprison a person for LIFE for having ORAL, not even ANAL, SEX with a CONSENTING ADULT even if DONE IN PRIVATE?

Correcto me if I wrong o.

t_a_s SG

849 is under oral and anal sex, but they already repealed so you ppl are there can practice oral and anal sex peacefully, police wont catch you, except 377A, where it is an offence to have sex, man with man, girl with girl, so this group want to protest

LazerLordz SG

specifically, it refers to male individuals.

t_a_s SG

Government wont be pressure by this group to repeal 377A, I think there are pros and cons.

PRP SG

NMP Siew was very persuasive in his argument to argue repealing 377A in the parliament.One of the reasons is the govt’s argument is rather weak.PM doesn’t say homo is wrong and he suggests homo is due to gene.The govt put the responsiblity of not repealing the law to the majority of the ppl who are conservative.So Mr Siew argued that it was the tyrany of the majority.So the majority of the ppl who oppose homo become tyrants in the eyes of gays!!!

mancha SG

This law came into being long before AIDS crossed the simian barrier into humans.

Mitell SG

I only know that when a non-homo man walk into a toilet he is protected by 377A, if any homo man wants to poke him he need to think twice. Hence without 377A the poor non homo man is not protected. Embarassed

sLeEpWaLkErInG SG

watch this homo animals on national geographic,

even the nature are doing this.. Rolling Eyes

simi ran jiao.. Shocked Shocked

Fairness SG

I am an average 15 year old student. People would probably think that this has got nothing to do with a teenager such as myself. But I cannot help it but voice my comments as a singaporean when I saw what views others had on homosexuals.

Even though I believe in libertarianism, I am flabbergasted by some negative and insensitive comments made by my fellow singaporeans. I find them all very slanderous and untrue towards the minority.

What are laws exactly? They are rules created by mankind to ensure that justice,freedom and equality are uphold within a society. Section 377A itself creates a paradox and contradicts the meaning of the word law and the word equality. Why is being different from the majority wrong? Would you discrimate a race or religion just because they are different?

We singaporeans are able to accomplish what most country are not able to in the context of living harmoniously with different races, under the identity of singaporeans. Since we are able to overcome such vast differences and accept each other, why cant we do the same now? Women were used to be regarded as inferior when compared to men. But such obsolete thinking belong to the decadent past and has no place in a society such as ours.

If we stand aside and view this entire situation without prejudice, lets question ourselves why exactly do you reject them? Is it because of their sexual orientation? Is it because we are too selfish to accept them as one of us and its easier to just neglect them?

I think its an insult to categorize homosexuality as a crime labeled under the term "sodomy". We are able question our integrity before we commit a crime and all. What of 377A? Does being homosexual deny you the rights of love? Even in private? I thought this entire situation as absurd and preposterous.

Lastly, who are we to even label them as abnormal? They are more like victims of our conservative society. Fault lies in their sexual orientation in which they have absolutely no control of. Is this really what a human being should think of a fellow human being? Such insensitive thinking belong to the past and singaporeans should learn to start accepting diversity insteading discriminating it. Eventually, we know that sooner or later, homosexual will eventually become part of this world. Why? Because it is part of our human nature to love and be loved even if you are different. So why not try to make an effort and learn to accept them as part of us instead of spreading animosity? Will we really view them like how it is if we knew them way before we know of their sexual orientation?

After all this I have said, I would like to make my stand by expressing the fact that I agree fully with abolishing a law of the past. This will ensure fairness in lieu of a society based on justice and equality. The least our government should do is to grant them the most basic rights to them by abolishing the law so as to allow them the freedom equivalent to all mankind and not treat them as rejects of our society.

Since our PM as already mentioned that this law is sort of like a dummy, we already know that sooner or later it will be gone. So why keep it there in false pretence and why not just abolish it once and for all?

kramnave SG

Well ask your parents and grandparents what they think. Go outside PAP kindergartens and ask the aunties waiting outside for their kids what they think. Go outside churches, temples, mosque, synagogue and ask them what they think. That is society, give it time to evolve.

Fairness SG

These people whom you mentioned are older adults who were taught traditionally moral values whom unlike us, has a wider and different view compared to them. I accepted that this society needs time and its changing rapidly.

But what I hate to see is people who condemn and crucify other just because of their sexual orientation. I hope to convince these people otherwise.

hloc SG

Yes.... it will for you, when you are older and your Gen to decide to keep or remove this law.

But for now.... most 'older adults', aka "those in charge"...... wants this part of the Law kept. So, when your Gen is in charge of the S'pore 10-15 yrs from now.... you could then change this law. Goodluck.