Mr Lee had said in his National Day Rally speech that attitudes towards homosexuality have shifted considerably, and while Singapore remains a broadly conservative society, gay people are now better accepted, especially among younger Singaporeans.
“Most people accept that a person’s sexual orientation and behaviour is a private and personal matter, and that sex between men should not be a criminal offence,” he said.
The Government had consulted stakeholders extensively before making the decision to repeal Section 377A, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) said in a joint statement on Thursday.
“From the national point of view, private sexual behaviour between consenting adults does not raise any law-and-order issues,” said the statement.
The other reason for the repeal is that based on a recent court decision on Section 377A, there is a significant risk that it could be struck down by the courts in a future challenge, on the grounds that it breaches Article 12 in the Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law and equal protection of the law to all.
But the Government has affirmed that it will uphold the current family structure where marriage is between a man and a woman and the laws and policies that are based on this. It is stated in the Women’s Charter that a marriage between people who are of the same sex is void.
MHA and MSF said in their joint statement that many of Singapore’s policies are based on the current construct of heterosexual marriage, such as adoption, housing and education. However, this legal definition of marriage, and laws and policies based on it, can be challenged in the courts on constitutional grounds, just as Section 377A was.