Singapore to decriminalize sex between men

Singapore's gay community Monday hailed a plan to decriminalize sex between men as "a triumph of love over fear," but warned there is still a long way to equality and new bans on same-sex unions could entrench discrimination against them.

,Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong caught many by surprise when he announced in his National Day Rally speech Sunday that the government would repeal Section 377A of the Penal Code, a colonial-era law that made sex between men punishable by up to two years in jail. Though the law technically only criminalizes sex between men, it is seen as a general ban on homosexuality, the BBC reported.

Since 2007, when Parliament last debated whether to repeal Section 377A, its position was to keep the law but not enforce it. But Lee said societal norms have shifted considerably and many Singaporeans will now accept decriminalization.