Today-Nov 30
Parliament on Tuesday (Nov 29) passed two Bills to repeal Section 377A of the Penal Code, which criminalizes sex between men, and to amend the Constitution to protect the definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman. This follows a 10-hour debate over two days involving more than 40 political office-holders, Members of Parliament (MPs), Nominated MPs and Non-Constituency MPs, with 16 of them doing so on Tuesday. Among the concerns raised by MPs were those related to a new Article 156 in the Constitution to protect the definition of marriage, what the passing of the constitutional amendments would mean for religious freedom, and the stance of education institutions following the repeal. Several MPs also cited the TODAY Youth Survey, which showed that about two-thirds of young adults agree that the repeal is a step towards a more inclusive society, reflected the changing attitudes of youth in Singapore. Closing the debate, Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam reiterated that repealing Section 377A is the right thing to do and that if Parliament did nothing, there is a significant risk of the law being struck down by the courts, which would have damaging consequences for society. The amendments to the Constitution saw 85 MPs vote “yes”, two MPs vote “no” and another two who abstained from voting. Constitutional amendments require the support of at least two-thirds of elected MPs and Non-Constituency MPs, which is a total of 63 MPs, to pass. “But it is not a carte blanche. What is protected is quite precise. It is the heterosexual definition of marriage,” Mr Shanmugam added. Read more at: https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/parliament-repeals-section-377a-approves-constitutional-change-protect-definition-marriage-2059221
