Homosexual sex has been stigmatized century upon century, and in many cultures across the world and through time, mostly seeking to stigmatize relationships between members of the same sex. Almost invariably, when it is criminalized, those who criminalize it (or would do so) refer to it as the "crime against nature" or the "sin against nature." However in my opinion, homosexual sex should not be criminalized, even if some argued that future generations would cease to exit.
Over years, people are misled by the fact that homosexual sex contributes most to the rise of AIDS and many other sexually-transmitted diseases. Apparently some have stood out and defended those who we call gays and lesbians by arguing both are completely unrelated. However surveys conducted has shown that both, although not directly related to each other, seem to have certain extent of connections. For instance, over in India, where inevitably its gay community is large, about 2.4 million people have been tested to be HIV positive. This shows the relation between the two and indeed in my opinion I think the same as well. However, even both are related, it does not mean that homosexual sex should be criminalized. According to Jeffrey O'Malley, director of the United Nations Development Programme, countries protecting men who have sex with men from discrimination are better able to curb the transmission of the virus. Countries where homosexuality is not illegal, such as China and Brazil, have seen greater success in preventing the spread of HIV. This is because if homosexuality has never been illegal, there will not be any legal barriers to stop prevention work.
Furthermore, homosexual sex should not be criminalised as this is part of other people’s lifestyle and freedom. The principal justification advanced by lawmakers for denying homosexual sex asserts that it is immoral, and therefore law should be imposed to ban it. However as human being, we can choose to live our own life and do things freely as we want as long as law permits us. Therefore, we cannot interfere other people’s life and by means no laws or rules should be imposed to restrict their freedom. In fact, some countries are now reviewing their city-state’s ban on sex between men and many more including Singapore have been urged by local law society to decriminalize homosexual sex, which they view as outdated and archaic. They also claim that while homosexual sex is not widely accepted in their country, authorities must take pragmatic approach, and therefore no strict law should be imposed to ban gay sex.
In conclusion, I think that gay individuals are entitled to the same legal rights and the same respect and dignity afforded all other individuals. “Moral disapproval” and “tradition” of human being, as being claimed by lawmakers, standing alone is simply an insufficient justification for discrimination and invalid reason for upholding a law prohibiting homosexual sex. Therefore, I strongly oppose the fact that homosexual sex should be criminalized.
Written by,
Chin Kah Fai
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According to Chin, homosexual sex should not be criminalised and I totally agree with him because Chin stated that when homosexuality is not illegal, the spread of HIV can be prevented. This statement contrast the fact that people are mislead that homosexual sex contributes most to the rise of AIDS over the years. Apart from that, he also mentioned about people’s freedom in being a homosexual which I also mentioned earlier in my post.
ReplyDeleteIn the second paragraph, Chin provided some statistic showing that many gays have been tested to be HIV positive. I think that this situation has nothing to do with homosexuality but knowledge in safe sex because quite a number of people in India did not receive proper education. Therefore, they were not aware of importance of safe sex. My perspective is supported by Chin’s following statement where homosexuality is not illegal in China, prevention work can be done by education.
Next, Chin mentioned about people’s freedom in choosing their couple. I think that law are there to prevent people from having too much freedom until it will disturb other people’s lives but homosexuality will not cause disturbance to anyone. So, it should not be restricted by law and causes discrimination towards gays and lesbians over the years. Even though so, law should be enforced at a certain level to prevent extreme intimate actions in public not only to homosexuals but “normal people”.
Finally, we still need more time to change public’s perspective on homosexuality because just by decriminalising homosexual sex is not enough as “moral disapproval” by the society will cause more problem to this matter.
Written by : Sara Liew Kar Mun
Hi Chin
ReplyDeleteLIke Sara, I also agree with your views on homosexuality. It's been said that a true test of a nation's success is how it treats its minority groups, be it ethnic minority groups, migrant workers, disabled people or homosexuals. That is, society should not only be tolerant, but also make up for all the past discrimiations against these minority groups who have been marginalised for so long.
Souk Yee