Hundreds of individuals sporting pink attended Singapore’s annual “Pink Dot” LGBTQ rally on Saturday, the primary to be held for the reason that city-state decriminalized homosexual intercourse final 12 months.
Brandishing rainbow flags and sporting glittery make-up, contributors gathered in a downtown park — the one place in Singapore the place protests are allowed with no police allow.
“I’m celebrating today because it’s been a really long fight,” stated Ernest Seah, a homosexual 58-year-old artist and trainer, whereas sitting on a pink inflatable sofa.
“And you know, it’s great that love wins and the government understands that.”
Singapore’s parliament final 12 months repealed a British colonial-era regulation that penalized intercourse between males with as much as two years in jail, though the statute was not actively enforced.
But on the similar time lawmakers handed a constitutional modification bolstering the prevailing definition of marriage as between a person and a girl.
The modification primarily closed the door on any future authorized challenges that would set up equal marital rights for LGBTQ folks.
Describing the temper as one in every of “celebration and joyousness,” Pink Dot’s spokesperson Clement Tan said it was a “aid” to hold the rally with the law no longer on the books.
He declined to specify what Pink Dot, one of Singapore’s leading LGBTQ advocacy groups, would focus on next.
“We acknowledge that publish repeal, folks want a second to breathe,” he said.
“Our purpose has all the time been about slowly progressing, and LGBTQ equality, no matter kind that appears like,” he added.
“So repeal was one thing that was essential to us, however it’s under no circumstances the tip of the work that should occur. There’s a for much longer street forward of us.”
The theme for Saturday’s rally — “A Singapore for All Families” — sought to push back against pressure from conservative groups who fear decriminalizing gay sex will erode “household values.”
“It shouldn’t really matter what families look like in Singapore. Most certainly not what the government defines as worthy of recognition. We believe that everyone should stand in the sun,” Tan stated.
Singapore’s “Pink Dot” homosexual rights rally began in 2009 and has frequently attracted sizeable crowds regardless of a backlash from some quarters.
Organizers didn’t launch figures on the gang measurement Saturday, however an AFP reporter estimated greater than a thousand attended.
Open assist for homosexual rights is rising, aided by altering social norms among the many youthful technology.
The proportion of Singaporeans who agree that same-sex {couples} must be allowed to marry has elevated to 32 %, up from 27 % final 12 months, a survey launched this month by market analysis agency Ipsos discovered. — Agence France-Presse
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
