Singapore's highest court on Monday
dismissed three cases challenging the city-state's law criminalizing
consensual sex between people of the same gender.
Although rarely enforced, the law calls
for up to a two-year prison sentence for violators.
The law, introduced in 1938, is a
holdover from when Singapore was a British colony.
OutRight Action International said that
it was “incredibly disappointed” by the decision because such
laws legitimize discrimination against the LGBT community.
“It is incredibly disappointing to
see the High Court of Singapore uphold this colonial-era law,”
OutRight Action International Executive Director Jessica Stern said
in a statement. “Even while lying dormant, such laws send a strong
message – that gay and bisexual men are not only second-class
citizens, but also criminals, purely for who they love. Today that
message was amplified, legitimizing societal hate, discrimination,
and exclusion of LGBTIQ people in Singapore.”
The three cases involved gay men who
argued that the colonial-era law was unconstitutional. But the high
court disagreed, saying that the law did not violate articles related
to equality and freedom of speech.
Singapore is among the 70 nations where
gay sex is criminalized.