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Debate over Section 377A intensifies

SINGAPORE — The lobbying by supporters and detractors of Section 377A of the Penal Code, which criminalises sex between men, has intensified, as an online petition makes its rounds among church members to support keeping the law.

A gay couple hold hands with one another during a symbolic group wedding on Valentine's Day in Lima February 14, 2010. The wedding was organized by the local gay community to create a discussion about the illegality of gay marriages in Peru. REUTERS/Enrique Castro-Mendivil (PERU - Tags: SOCIETY)

A gay couple hold hands with one another during a symbolic group wedding on Valentine's Day in Lima February 14, 2010. The wedding was organized by the local gay community to create a discussion about the illegality of gay marriages in Peru. REUTERS/Enrique Castro-Mendivil (PERU - Tags: SOCIETY)

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SINGAPORE — The lobbying by supporters and detractors of Section 377A of the Penal Code, which criminalises sex between men, has intensified, as an online petition makes its rounds among church members to support keeping the law.

The petition to keep the law — which was started on Jan 11 and has since drawn more than 6,000 signatures — was coupled with another recent call by a church leader to retain Section 377A.

According to the website hosting the petition, it is organised by “Aaron” and there is a link to a website that contains blogs and articles on homosexuality.

Among other things, the petition calls on the Government to “conduct a comprehensive study into the ill effects of promoting homosexuality in culture”.

On Saturday, Senior Pastor Yang Tuck Yoong from Cornerstone Community Church referred to the “LGBT issue” in his weekly message that was posted on the church’s website.

He said that churches “are beginning to mobilise themselves not just for this battle, but for the many battles ahead of us”.

He added: “This war is winnable ... Be ready for a sharp polarising of our society over the gay and lesbian issue. And when it happens, you better make sure you know which side you are on.”

Yesterday, he amended his message by deleting the sentences that contained any reference to the issue.

When contacted, Mr Yang said the message was amended to “diffuse the tension” after fellow church members alerted him to the online furore over its content.

He said: “We are Christians, we are peace-loving people … This (tension) is not what I intended.”

Pointing out that the church had previously taken a stand publicly on the issue, Mr Yang stressed that the act of deleting parts of his message was “not an apology”.

“We felt that it was probably wise for us to do that,” he said.

He acknowledged that some might have taken offence at his use of the word “war” but explained that he was in fact using it in the context of “cultural war”.

His objective was to keep church members informed about the ongoing debate, he added.

“We are not in any way trying to create any problems for anybody. We are coming out publicly to say our stand and everyone has a right to do that,” he said.

Mr Yang’s comments come after Senior Pastor Lawrence Khong from the Faith Community Baptist Church had — in the presence of Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, who happened to pass by the church during his constituency walkabout in Marine Parade two Sundays ago — urged the Government to not repeal the law.

Mr Khong read out a prepared statement which said, among other things, that the effort to repeal Section 377A is “a looming threat” to the family unit, which he defined as “a man as father, a woman as mother, and children”.

Mr Khong’s statement drew strong reactions from the online community.

Last Thursday, Reverend Miak Siew, Executive Pastor of Singapore’s Free Community Church and member of gay advocacy group People Like Us, wrote an open letter to Mr Khong, stating that “it is the continued stigmatisation of LGBT people that you are perpetuating that is a threat to families, because you have placed obstacles in how parents understand their children who are different”.

Two days later, Mr Khong posted a message on his Facebook page, pointing out that he has “good friends” who are homosexual.

He reiterated that “we are NOT against the homosexual person, but we are unapologetically against the homosexual agenda. And that makes a world of difference”.

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