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Section 377A repeal will lead to ‘aggressive LGBT activism’: church grouping

SINGAPORE - JUNE 13:  People gather at the Speakers' Corner during Pink Dot SG on June 13, 2015 in Singapore. Pink Dot SG is Singapore's annual rally to support the Freedom to Love regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, entering its seventh consecutive year at Hong Lim Park with this year's Ambassadors, Corporate Sponsors, 2015 Campaign Video, and a fresh line-up for the Pink Dot Concert. Singapore has been shrouded in controversy over its approach to same sex relationships with an all out ban on same sex relationships between men.  (Photo by Lionel Ng/Getty Images)
A photo showing people gathering at the Speakers' Corner during Pink Dot SG in 2015 in support of the LGBT community in Singapore. (PHOTO: Getty Images)

SINGAPORE — A church grouping in Singapore on Friday (19 August) warned that if the law that criminalises gay sex were to be removed, it would lead to “a brand of intolerant and aggressive LGBT activism which seeks to impose its ideology upon Singapore society”.

In a statement posted on its website, the Alliance of Pentecostal & Charismatic Churches of Singapore (APCCS) said it expressed its gratitude to the government ministers for engaging the grouping on Section 377A (S377A) of the Penal Code.

The statement comes after Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam spoke about the need for legislation to evolve amid a gradual shift in society’s views on homosexuality. Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong also said in a recent interview that Singapore must seek a compromise over the law.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will deliver his National Day Rally speech this Sunday (21 August), and some political observers say he is expected to talk about the law and societal perceptions of it.

The church grouping warned strongly against removing the moral marker established in S377A. “While we agree that not all sin should be criminalised, harmful sexual behaviour should not become mainstream either,” it said.

Calling itself a “caretaker of public morality”, the grouping said it rejects any “normalisation of homosexuality” and denounce attempts to change Singapore’s norms on marriage and family.

“The Church continues to uphold the standard that the act of homosexual sex is harmful, both to the individual and to broader society.”

If Section 377A is to be repealed, the grouping urged the government to state clearly its stance and implement safeguards including enshrining the definition of marriage to protect the moral fabric of society.

A repeal of S377A will lead to cascading harmful effects on the workplace, schools, housing, marriage and family policy, the grouping warned.

“Repealing Section 377A without placing an equally weighted proscription in place will have the effect of emboldening gay activists because it shifts homosexuality away from prohibition to permission.”

The grouping supports the retention of S377A as a matter of “Biblical faithfulness and civic responsibility”.

Warning against “aggressive and intolerant opposition” who challenges any “conservative worldview”, the grouping said, “This is a force that pushes us ever closer to the zero-sum identity politics that has crippled Western societies, and that Singapore can ill afford.”

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