Monday, July 8, 2024
Do Not Remove Ancient Landmarks -- Anti-Sodomy Statute in Singapore
Monday, April 15, 2024
Sri Lanka MassResistance Activists Derail Repeal of anti-sodomy statutes
In Sri Lanka: Effort to repeal anti-sodomy statutes derailed, thanks to local MassResistance pro-family activists.
Overcame intense pressure from UN and western nations to turn country pro-LGBT.
But now a new LGBT fight in Parliament over broad “gender” bills.
April 13, 2024
Our activists in Sri Lanka are thrilled at this victory over Western cultural imperialism, and are getting ready for the next battle.In August 2023, MassResistance reported that the country of Sri Lanka, a nation of religiously diverse people, was being pressured by Western countries to repeal its long-standing laws regarding homosexual behavior. The aim was to force Sri Lankan society to be “LGBT-friendly.”
The laws in question, which date from the British colonial period, criminalize “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” and “any act of gross indecency” between persons.
However, the prescribed penalties are rarely imposed. As in many locales around the world, these laws act as a barrier to keep homosexuality and transgenderism from being normalized and accepted in society.
Thus, LGBT behaviors cannot be taught in the schools or promoted to children or as part of any “sex education” curriculum. There can be no “gay marriage,” same-sex civil unions, or any gross public display of homosexual behaviors. Even “gender identity” ideology is banned.
Nevertheless, LGBT organizations are allowed to operate openly in Sri Lanka, and even hold “pride” parades. But they cannot include naked bodies or any of the other disgusting sights one sees at those events in Western countries, and the groups are not involved in any way with the government.
The intense efforts to repeal these laws came from the United Nations, along with public and private money from the US, UK, Canada, and other countries. They funded local LGBT groups to conduct an organized pressure campaign, and also exerted direct international political pressure.
Gay Pride parade in Colombo, the capital city. It's officially called a "Freedom Pride Parade," apparently to avoid any possible problems regarding the current laws - but to demand their repeal. They haven't been successful. [Photo: Kenya Christian Voice]Since early 2023, MassResistance has been working with local leaders and pro-family activists in Sri Lanka to stop this repeal. We provided a detailed flyer outlining key reasons why the country should not repeal these statutes. We explained how it would lead to future problems. We documented how the proliferation of homosexual conduct and transgenderism harm individuals and overall public health.
Many pro-family organizations around the world gave up or kept quiet on this fight in Sri Lanka. But MassResistance was unwavering and continued to help Sri Lankans to stop this repeal in their Parliament. Our activists around the world contacted local churches, local leaders, and members of Parliament, urging them to oppose the repeal. We also connected with Catholic leaders from other countries, who worked with their colleagues in Sri Lanka.
The last big push came in February 2024. Key LGBT groups held a meeting with the Speaker of the Parliament. But by then the momentum was against them and their efforts fell flat.
After ten months of activism, the repeal effort has effectively died! Our activists have spoken with members of Parliament and local leaders, and according to all of them there is no appetite to move this bill forward.
Our key contact in the country, Dr. Eschan Dias, enthusiastically thanked MassResistance’s contribution! “I am most grateful to MassResistance for your love and support for this country,” he told us. But he added, “We need to keep up in intensity and velocity.” That’s because of the new threat in Parliament.
Two far-reaching “gender” laws filed
LGBT activists and their supporters in the country are now trying a new approach this year to push their LGBT ideology into the country. Two wide-ranging gender-related bills were announced a few weeks ago.
The “Gender Equality Act” would officially define "gender" in the nation’s law to include men and women who identify as transgender, and “any new identities that may emerge in the future.” This is clearly an open door to state-enforced radical sexual and ideological anarchy.
The “Women’s Empowerment Act” is being touted as an effort to allow more women to be in corporate and government positions. But in reality, this legislation would create and force quotas for women and different sexual “orientations” into broad areas of Sri Lankan corporate and public life. Dr. Dias discusses these bills more fully in a recent Substack article.
As the Sri Lanka news media has reported, the president has caved in to the radicals. But the real power is in the Parliament. And we're working for more victories there!Relying on the same tactics the LGBT movement has employed in the UN and Western countries, activists are hoping to confuse lawmakers and shame opponents with general terms about protecting women’s rights and ensuring “gender equality” to push the destructive homosexual-transgender cause into the government and public square of Sri Lanka. (A key tactic is to use “gender” to mean both biological sex and “transgender” identities.)
But MassResistance understands exactly what is going on, and will not stand by and let the people of Sri Lanka – or their legislators in Parliament – be bullied and misled by misinformation and propaganda from the LGBT movement. We will make sure they are fully informed.
Final thoughts
The well-funded international LGBT movement, along with with the UN, private organizations, and Western governments, are determined to force those depraved values on vulnerable religious-oriented nations around the world. MassResistance will help their targets fight back against this cultural imperialism!
Please help us continue to do our uncompromising work!
Our successes depend on people like you.
Your support will make the difference!
Monday, October 3, 2022
Where Critical Spectator Errs re: Homosexuality in Singapore
Critical Spectator is a Polish expat who lives in Singapore. He loves the country, he often praised the country's unique state-capitalist environment.
He also had some interesting views on Section 377a of the nation's penal code. This statute criminalizes
Why Singapore is Correct on LGBT Rights
This may be my most controversial article yet (at least to some) - but precisely because it may be considered controversial is why I believe it is important to publish it. So, let's begin with a both baffling and bold statement:
LGBT supporters and their opponents are both right.
No. One side must be wrong, because one side has clearly declared that homosexuality is wrong and aberrant, and therefore the behaviors must be curbed and criminalized as much as possible.
Yet, let's allow Critical Spectator to make his case:
Impossible? Well, let me explain.
Let's Get Physical
Little over 100 years ago, in 1915, Albert Einstein published his general theory of relativity, explaining gravity and, consequently, the behavior of large objects. About a decade later Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg gave the world their interpretation of quantum mechanics, which serves to describe the physical behavior of subatomic particles.
Unfortunately, while both are immensely valuable they lack a common link - in other words, what works for large objects doesn't seem to work at a single subatomic particle level - and vice versa.
This paradox keeps springing to mind whenever I'm observing disputes that extend from the interests of an individual to the interests of the society - clashing with them violently - with people on both sides of the front exchanging arguments, completely missing the simple fact that they are speaking from entirely different perspectives.
Indeed, people may get away with disgusting acts in private, but such behaviors cannot become appropriate or mainstream.
And, interestingly, it may mean that much like the physical theories, they are both correct, while being in conflict with each other.
One such war is being fought over LGBT rights.
That phrase "LGBT rights" is a misuse of the notion of right. A right must be universal, not particular, and not promoting one group at the expense of others. What homosexual and transgender activists want is privilege, not equality. They want promotion, not rights.
Individual Fights the Society
The differences in opinion boil down to a clash of an individualist against a communitarian view. The former - arguably more visible these days - suggests that individual freedom is of paramount importance and that people should have the liberty to do what they want even if it meets disapproval of the majority. Communitarianism preaches superiority of the common interest over individual rights.
Individual freedom cannot be the paramount value in any culture. It's simply not possible. The individual does not come into being via freedom alone. There is a culture, a political hegemony which exists before the individual. This tenet is a fundamental concern in real conservatism, and Conservatives across the country need to get back to adhering to it.
Both of these views - much like the physical theories - can coexist but will clash if they stray outside of the area they make sense in.
On an individual level there is nothing wrong with anybody choosing to live with and loving any other person regardless of their gender (and as long as the relationship is consensual). There is really no reason to deny two consenting adults the ability to live (and sleep) with each other.
Actually, there is plenty wrong with such destructive behaviors. It's a misuse of organs, it spread venereal disease, and it deprives children of the mother and father that they need to grow up. At this point, Critical Spectator starts to get the whole argument wrong.
However, while that works for individuals it does not necessarily work for the society at large.
Individuals make up society, but not exclusively. As stated above, there is a moral fabric, a cultural framework which must be respected in order for individuals to exist, survive, and thrive.
The value of a relationship to an individual is defined by the person's subjective interests and feelings. The value of relationships to the society is defined by their functional roles.
Since gay marriage does not serve a reproductive purpose it is therefore not equal to a heterosexual relationship (for the society), even though on an individual level they are both the same - i.e. are expressions of mutual love between two people.
There is no such thing as "Gay marriage." We need to stop allowing modern-day commentators to normalize this crisis of misusing language.
Conversely, forcing the communitarian expectation of a heterosexual relationship on a homosexual person is pointless for the society and harmful for the individual. It is therefore preferable that individuals retain their liberty in choosing whom to spend their lives with.
There is really no such thing as a "homosexual." People are not born gay. There is no gay gene, and homosexuality as a facet of one's behavior or personality is not permanent. It's simply not true. Once again, Critical Spectator is critically off on this point. Notice how much the discussion has continued to veer to the left when it comes to homosexuality and transgenderism. Commentators and pundits insist on treating the behavior as a static identity, when it is not.
Some people may argue that homosexual couples can have children via surrogacy or adoption but that's just trying to find a detour to reach a predetermined ideological goal, while ignoring broader implications, consequences of which we don't know yet - and this uncertainty warrants prudent behavior.
It's good that Critical Spectator throws some shade at this proposal. Homosexuals should not be parents. They cannot be parents, in fact, since they cannot reproduce.
Asia doesn't have a habit of taking all Western ideas wholesale, evaluating each of them for its usefulness instead or observing how they play out elsewhere before making a decision.
The normalization of homosexuality has wreaked untold havoc in Western Countries. The political tyranny, the cultural depravity, the moral vacuity which have ensued because of the destruction of natural relations cannot be ignored.
The first issue is the true long term impact on the children - and not only by the parents but also the society, as social stigma can impede good upbringing, even if both parents are perfect in their roles. Prevailing social norms have to be accounted for when enacting laws that address issues of a small minority. And while there is little scientific evidence of directly adverse effects, the samples used in research supporting same-sex parenting are neither randomized nor big enough - and possibly impacted by ideological bias.
More pundits need to point out how homosexual coupling hurts children. Destruction of marriage hurts children, and the corrupt proposal hurts communities as a whole.
Secondly, setting any legal precedents in one case often acts as a gateway for promotion of other ideological goals, which are even more questionable. One of them visible in the West today is an attempt at normalization of transsexualism and the queer theory, supporting the idea of gender fluidity.
Dr. Thio Li-Ann explained quite succinctly that decriminalizing sodomy was the first step in a much larger, more militant agenda. She outlined how reducing sexual differences to "Partner A and Partner B" in marriage would lead to genderless constructs throughout societies, as well as the imposition of this rank dishonesty onto every facet of the culture.
This has severely adverse effects in both formal and informal ways, with courts ruling that children as young as 3 or 4 years old can undergo gender transitioning, with parents finding it fashionable to have or raise a transgender child - including celebrities like Charlize Theron, who is transitioning her 7 year old son into a daughter. Or with informal initiatives which grow in popularity, like the "Drag Queen Story Hour", featuring men dressed up as women reading stories to children in schools and libraries around America and in a few cities abroad already as well.
Gender transitioning is child abuse through and through. One should call it what it really is: sexual mutilation of minors. Furthermore, countries should criminalize this practice for adults, too. Why should anyone--or everyone--participate in this lie that a man can become a woman, or vice versa? It's an abusive corruption of language and a vile imposition on the rest of the community. It's deceptive at its core, as well, and complicates medical as well as other cultural spaces.
Here's the summary from their website:
"Drag Queen Story Hour (DQSH) is just what it sounds like—drag queens reading stories to children in libraries, schools, and bookstores. DQSH captures the imagination and play of the gender fluidity of childhood and gives kids glamorous, positive, and unabashedly queer role models. In spaces like this, kids are able to see people who defy rigid gender restrictions and imagine a world where people can present as they wish, where dress up is real."
In other words, we're no longer talking about what two people do in their bedroom but what millions of children are being taught in schools at an especially important and fragile time in their approaching adolescence.
The normalization of homosexuality was never about the bedroom. Homosexual militants wanted to decriminalize their perverse conduct precisely so that they could live "out and proud" openly, then take steps to demand that everyone else accept them. This whole movement was never about consenting adults avoiding incarceration. This movement was about preying on minors and adults to practice their sexual perversion and proclivities with abandon and without limit.
I don't think it falls under "love is love" slogans. Especially as at least two of the men have turned out to be past sex-offenders. This is tantamount to a bait and switch scheme, and certainly does not inspire trust about the entire community - nor about the consequences of supporting LGBTQ causes only to be duped into letting both terrible people and terrible ideas dictate the new standards.
Those sex offenders were discovered by MassResistance at the Houston Drag Queen Story Hour programs three years ago. And MassResistance has found out that there
Is this the promised progress? Color me skeptical.
There is no possibility of tolerance when it comes to widespread sexual perversion. What people do in the privacy of their homes has public consequences. The government does indeed police and regulate behavior in the bedroom. The culture sets standards regarding what behaviors should be promoted, permitted, and prohibited within and without the bedroom.
Critical Spectator strikes me many ways as a neoliberal globalist. He supports individual freedom, yes, but within the constraints of the local culture's values and traditions. This neoliberal sentiment also means that individual freedom no matter what has some value. However, he wants to reconcile this globalist tendency with the more conservative leanings of his adopted country. That is a tension which cannot last long.
And has now frayed, since the Singapore government has declared that they will repeal Section 377a of the penal code.
Responsibility & Tolerance in Governance
I've often praised Singapore for its common sense and today is no different - even though it may sound counter-intuitive in this case. Section 377A, which (technically) criminalizes sexual relations between men is a remnant of colonial legislation, most of which was repealed in 2007. It is not applied in practice and the government has long declared it would not be enforced.
On the face of it, it would appear it is common sense to just get rid of it. But sometimes the most reasonable thing is to defend the status quo.
First of all, Section 377A serves as a political tool, appealing to largely conservative sentiments of the Singaporean society. Secondly - and crucially - it focuses attention of the pro-LGBT activists, who cannot progress beyond this obstacle with any other ideas.
The law has served as a stop-gap to prevent the spread of further LGBT perversion. Repeal the anti-sodomy statute, then the activists will clamor for the entitlement to get married, to throw parades in their honor, and then demand the "right" to adopt children.
As long as it exists, all protests will be revolving around its repeal. If it falls, one day, then it is safe to assume that Pink Dot will not dissolve - much like it never happened with activism in the West - but, instead, is going to turn to promoting other ideas, opening Pandora's box for the government.
Indeed, this is the case. With the repeal of 377a, activists across the island nation have voiced their deep displeasure. They want more, and they want it now. In fact, some see it as an insult that the government has taken the token steps to repeal a statute which they were not enforcing in the first place.
Singaporean authorities face an unenviable task of balancing the interests of the country (both its society and well-being of its citizens, as well as its global brand as a modern, supremely developed city-state) with the need to retain support from individuals across various age groups and beliefs.
I find it very frustrating that government policy must be discussed in terms of "balance." There is right and wrong, there is good and evil, there is wise and unwise, and as much as possible governments must insist on doing what is right, even if it is not popular in the short term, whether with the citizens of the country or the world at large.
At the same time the dead law exposes hypocrisy of the advocates of its repeal, proving that the government's reluctance to remove it is not unfounded.
Activists don't care about the real conditions in which gay couples live in Singapore today - free from any persecution and arguably being the safest and most prosperous in the entire region.
Homosexuals have been able to do quite a lot in Singapore, without fear or recrimination or retribution. The truth is that they condemn themselves for abusing their bodies and living in accordance with a lie. A number of Singaporean bloggers and commentators acknowledge that homosexual "communities" are fraught with abuse, negativity, and outright hatred. So much for "Love is Love."
These facts are irrelevant because political and ideological agendas are too valuable, leveraging this meaningless section as a symbol to rally support behind.
The law is not meaningless, in that curtail the normalization of sexual perversion is good for individuals as society as a whole.
Ultimately, the whole 377A drama has little to do with love or ending discrimination - even if many people who join in may idealistically believe it does. It's about exerting ideological influence on the country and political one on the government that leads it. But the authorities cannot yield, in no small part because the pressure on them would only intensify to give protesters even more later.
And yet the government has given in, and more pressure will follow.
There's always some cause in bad need of support, after all.
As a result, the best thing to do is not to enforce the law and yet leave it there to prevent more ambitious pursuits of even more dubious aims. All of that while waiting to see where these ideas lead in the Western countries, respecting the will of the majority while leaving the door open for a safe and comfortable life to the minorities.
The homosexual activists will never leave well-enough alone. They can't, since they are not well themselves, harming their bodies and struggling with issues
And that's easily the most balanced, considerate and tolerant approach you'll witness anywhere in the world.
Final Reflection
The analysis provided by Critical Spectator is thorough, for certain. He could not have predicated that the Singapore government would repeal 377a. I do find troubling his equivocation that both the government and the activists are right about 377a. This is his globalist neoliberalism standing out: "Everyone is right, and everyone has their own truth" is the jist of this misplaced mindset. No, one side is right and one side is wrong, and in politics the powers that best should strive for choosing the right side of the fight as much as possible.
The Singapore government has chosen poorly in their decision to repeal 377a. They most likely fear the potential commercial backlash from Western countries, which are intent on normalizing the destruction of the family. Rather than respecting its own borders, language, and culture, the Singapore government wants to wander further into the globalist, secularist experiment, one which treats identity politics and globalist grandstanding as more important than the long-seated traditions of the different peoples within the island nation.
One has to wonder how much longer Singapore will survive, now that the country is turning away from its singular identity as a conservative enclave in the midst of an ever-increasing globalist neoliberalism.
Saturday, May 2, 2020
First World Nation Still Criminalizes Sodomy
First World Nation Still Criminalizes Sodomy
Political Leaders Understand Fraught Consequences and
Full Tyranny of LGBT Agenda
Lawmakers and Pro-Family Activists Effectively Defend
Anti-Sodomy Statute
MassResistance is the international pro-family group that
makes the difference. We are committed to fighting the perverse LGBT agenda
everywhere, not just in the United States. We have had growing successes in
Latin America as well as Canada, and we have international members committed to
working with us and stopping the spread of this agenda in their countries, too.
Sadly, many pro-family activists are unaware of the rising
LGBT onslaught in Southeast Asia, a region of the world noted for its
conservative, pro-family values and respect for the traditional family. For the
past three years, we have reported on the tyranny which forced gay marriage in
Taiwan, even though a record 70% of the population defended the natural
definition of marriage. Recently, our contacts in Taiwan have informed us that
the government is pushing LGBT themes into primary classrooms along with demands
for more privileges for homosexuals and transgenders.
The situation in Hong Kong is better. Our pro-family
partners have not been afraid to speak out against the LGBT agenda. Gay
marriage is still not recognized. Last year, the Hong Kong Gay Pride parade had
to be cancelled because of the political upheaval. Some of our activists are now
urging the Hong Kong Legislative council to recriminalize homosexual acts, in
part because of the inevitable tyranny which can follow.
The Republic of Singapore Still Criminalizes Homosexual
Acts
The fight against the LGBT Agenda also has a stunning
champion in Southeast Asia, and in a country that most overlook: The Republic
of Singapore. As another former British Colony, this little island nation has a
unique political culture. Freedom of speech is significantly regulated. Parades
are not permitted. For public assemblies, Singapore residents must apply for a
permit, and they can only hold their rallies in one location—Hong Lim Park. For
the past decade, LGBT activists have promoted their version of Gay Pride called “Pink Dot”.
More importantly, though, unlike other former colonies, the
Republic of Singapore still criminalizes homosexuality in its penal code:
Section 377a! Despite repeated legal and political attempts to repeal the law,
it has remained on the books, although the government does not actively enforce
it.
Here’s the language:
Any male person who, in public or
private, commits, or abets the commission of, or procures or attempts to
procure the commission by any male person of, any act of gross indecency with
another male person, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may
extend to 2 years.
Gross indecency covers all forms of sexual contact between
men, not just anal sex.
Singapore Member of Parliament Gives Spirited Defense of
377A—and against the LGBT agenda as a whole
Unlike pro-family conservative lawmakers in other countries,
including the United States, Singapore’s elected officials have given strong,
effective arguments for maintaining the anti-sodomy law and resisting the
larger LGBT Agenda. Not just referring to tradition or religious sentiment,
they often outline the underlying public health and public decency concerns
that arise from decriminalizing sodomy.
A massive LGBT push took place in 2007 to remove the
statute. Stunningly, a petition emerged online urging the government to retain
the statute. Lawmakers in the Singapore parliament wisely obliged to uphold and
defend the statute.
One of the most powerful speeches delivered in the Singapore
Parliament was given in 2007 by Dr. Thio Li-Ann, who currently serves as a
constitutional law professor in the National University of Singapore. In 2007, her
spirited, researched, and effective speech outlined opposition to homosexuality
as a whole, not just in support for 377A. To this day, she has been one of the
most vocal champions for maintaining 377A and upholding natural marriage.
Dr. Thio Li-Ann of
Singapore
Click on this link to view her speech. [Video Link]
You
can read the text for the speech below (and click here):
Two camps championing two distinct criminal law philosophies are polarised over whether to retain or repeal s377A which criminalizes public or private acts of gross indecency between two men, such as sodomy.
The ‘liberal’ camp wants 377A repealed. They offer an ‘argument from consent’ –government should not police the private sexual behaviour of consenting adults. They opine this violates their liberty or ‘privacy’. They ask, ‘Why criminalize something which does not “harm” anyone; if homosexuals are “born that way”, isn’t it unkind to ‘discriminate’ against their sexual practices?
These flawed arguments are marinated with distracting fallacies which obscure what is at stake – repealing 377A is the first step of a radical, political agenda which will subvert social morality, the common good and undermine our liberties.
The ‘communitarian’ camp argues from ‘community values’ – these social conservatives want 377A retained, to protect public health, morality, decency and order. A Keep 377A online petition attracted over 15,000 signatures after a few days.
Like many, I applaud the government’s wisdom in keeping 377A which conserves what upholds the national interest. ‘Conservative’ here is not a dirty word connoting backwardness; environmental conservation protects our habitat; the moral ecology must be conserved to protect what is precious and sustains a dynamic, free and good society.
The welfare of future generations depends on basing law on sound public philosophy. We should reject the ‘argument from consent’ as its philosophy is intellectually deficient and morally bankrupt.
Sir, the arguments to retain 377A are overwhelmingly compelling and should be fully articulated, to enable legislators to make informed decisions and not be bewitched by the empty rhetoric and emotional sloganeering employed by many radical liberals, which generate more heat than light.
The real question today is not “if” we should repeal 377A now, or wait until people are ready to move. This assumes too much, as though we need an adjustment period before the inevitable. The real question is not “if” but “should” we ever repeal 377A. It is not inevitable; it is not desirable to repeal it in any event. Not only is retaining s377A sound public policy, it is legally and constitutionally beyond reproach. Responsible legislators must grapple with the facts, figures and principles involved; they cannot discount the noxious social consequences repeal will bring.
Debate must be based on substance not sound-bites. Let me red-flag four red herrings.
First, to say a law is archaic is merely chronological snobbery.
Second, you cannot say a law is ‘regressive’ unless you first identify your ultimate goal. If we seek to copy the sexual libertine ethos of the wild wild West, then repealing s377A is progressive. But that is not our final destination. The onus is on those seeking repeal to prove this will not harm society.
Third, to say a law which criminalizes homosexual acts because many find it offensive is merely imposing a “prejudice” or “bias” assumes with justification that no reasonable contrary view exists. This evades debate. The liberal argument which says sodomy is a personal choice, private matter and ‘victimless crime’ merely asserts this. It rests precariously on an idiosyncratic notion of “harm” – but “harm” can be both physical and intangible; victims include both the immediate parties and third parties. What is done in ‘private’ can have public repercussions.
Fourth, some argue that legislators should be ‘open-minded’ and decriminalize sodomy. However, like an open mouth, an open mind must eventually close on something solid. They urge legislators to be ‘objective’ and to leave their personal subjective beliefs at home, especially if they hold religious views which consider homosexuality aberrant.
This demand for objectivity is intellectually disingenuous as there is no neutral ground, no ‘Switzerland of ambivalence’ when we consider the moral issues related to 377A which require moral judgment of what is right and wrong – not to take a stand, is to take a stand! As law has a moral basis, we need to consider which morality to legislate. Neither the majority or minority is always right – but there are fundamental values beyond fashion and politics which serve the common good. Religious views are part of our common morality. We separate ‘religion’ from ‘politics,’ but not ‘religion’ from ‘public policy’. That would be undemocratic. All citizens may propose views in public debate, whether influenced by religious or secular convictions or both; only the government can impose a view by law.
Incidentally, one does not have to be religious to consider homosexuality contrary to biological design and immoral; secular philosopher Immanuel Kant considered homosexuality “immoral acts against our animal nature” which did not preserve the species and dishonoured humanity.
The issues surrounding s377A are about morality, not modernity or being cosmopolitan. What will foreigners think if we retain 377A? Depends on which foreigner you ask. Many would applaud us! Such issues divide other societies as well! The debate is not closed. A group of Canadians1 were grieved enough to issue an online apology to the world “for harm done through Canada’s legalization of homosexual marriage”, urging us not to repeat their mistakes.
Singapore is an independent state and we can decide the 377A issue ourselves; we have no need of foreign or neo-colonial moral imperialism in matters of fundamental morality.
There are no constitutional objections to s377A
Sir, there are no constitutional objections to retaining 377A while de-criminalising heterosexual oral and anal sex. Three legal points are worth making.
First, there is no constitutional right to homosexual sodomy. It is not a facet of personal liberty under article 9. Nor is there a human right to homosexual sodomy though some like to slip this in under the umbrella of ‘privacy.’ Human rights are universal, like prohibitions against genocide. Demands for ‘homosexual rights’ are the political claims of a narrow interest group masquerading as legal entitlements. Homosexual activists often try to infiltrate and hijack human rights initiatives to serve their political agenda, discrediting an otherwise noble cause to protect the weak and poor. You cannot make a human wrong a human right.
Second, while homosexuals are a numerical minority, there is no such thing as ‘sexual minorities’ at law. Activists have coined this term to draw a beguiling but fallacious association between homosexuals and legally recognized minorities like racial groups. Race is a fixed trait. It remains controversial whether homosexual orientation is genetic or environmental, perhaps both. There are no ex-Blacks but there are ex-gays. The analogy between race and sexual orientation or preferred sexual preferences, is false. Activists repeat the slogan ‘sexual minority’ ad nauseum as a deceptive political ploy to get sympathy from people who don’t think through issues carefully. Repetition does not cure fallacy.
Science has become so politicized that the issue of whether gays are ‘born that way’ depends on which scientist you ask. You cannot base sound public philosophy on poor politicized pseudo ‘science’.
Homosexuality is a gender identity disorder; there are numerous examples of former homosexuals successfully dealing with this. Just this year, two high profile US activists left the homosexual lifestyle, the publisher of Venus, a lesbian magazine, and an editor of Young Gay America. Their stories are available on the net. An article by an ex-gay in the New Statesmen this July identified the roots of his emotional hurts, like a distant father, overbearing mother and sexual abuse by a family friend; after working through his pain, his unwanted same-sex attractions left. While difficult, change is possible and a compassionate society would help those wanting to fulfill their heterosexual potential. There is hope.
Singapore law only recognizes racial and religious minorities. Special protection is reserved for the poor and disadvantaged; the average homosexual person in Singapore is both well educated, with higher income – that’s why upscale condo developers target them! Homosexuals do not deserve special rights, just the rights we all have.
‘Sexual minorities’ and ‘sexual orientation’ are vague terms – covering anything from homosexuality, bestiality, incest, paedophilia – do all these minority sexual practices merit protection?
Third, 377A does not breach the article 12 guarantee of equality. While all human persons are of equal worth, not all human behaviour is equally worthy. We separate the actor from the act. In criminalizing acts, we consider the wrongfulness of the act, the harm caused and how it affects the good of society.
Parliament has the power to classify; this involves a choice, like distinguishing murder and manslaughter. Classifications which satisfy the constitutional test of validity are called “differentiation”; only invalid classifications are called “discrimination.” Criminalising same-sex sodomy but not opposite-sex sodomy is valid “differentiation.” S377A does not target any specific actor; it would cover a heterosexual male experimenting with male sodomy.
Valid classifications must have a clear basis
and be rationally related to a legitimate purpose. In serving public health and
public morality, 377A passes constitutional muster with flying colours.
Public Health Argument
Sir, public health and safety is a legitimate purpose served by the 377A ban on homosexual anal and oral sex. Both these practices are efficient methods of transmitting sexual diseases and AIDs / HIV which are public health problems. These are not victimless crimes as the whole community has to foot the costs of these diseases.
Anal-penetrative sex is inherently damaging to the body and a misuse of organs, like shoving a straw up your nose to drink. The anus is designed to expel waste; when something is forcibly inserted into it, the muscles contract and cause tearing; fecal waste, viruses carried by sperm and blood thus congregate, with adverse health implications like ‘gay bowel syndrome’, anal cancer. ‘Acts of gross indecency’ under 377A also covers unhygienic practices like “rimming” where the mouth comes into contact with the anus. Consent to harmful acts is no defence – otherwise, our strong anti-drug laws must fall as it cannot co-exist with letting in recreational drugs as a matter of personal lifestyle choice.
Opposite-sex sodomy is harmful, but medical studies indicate that same-sex sodomy carries a higher price tag for society because of higher promiscuity and frequency levels. The New York Times reported that even informed homosexuals return to unsafe practices like bare-backing and bug-chasing after a health crisis wanes. A British Study showed that the legalization of homosexual sodomy correlated with an upsurge of STDs among gays. Common sense tells us that with more acceptance, any form of consensual sexual behaviour increases. Sodomy laws have some deterrent effect.
It is rational for the state to target the most acute aspect of a problem. The legal issue is not whether the state should be concerned with heterosexual sodomy but whether it is reasonable to believe same-sex sodomy poses a distinct problem. Medical literature indicates that gays have disproportionately higher STDs rates, which puts them in a different category from the general public, warranting different treatment.
The onus rests on opponents of 377A to negate every conceivable basis for treating homosexual and heterosexual sodomy differently. They cannot, because classifications do not need to be perfect and can be under-inclusive; valid classifications only need to “go some way” to serve the legislative goal, which 377A clearly does.
Public Morality
Sir, the power to legislate morality is not limited to preventing demonstrable harm. The Penal Code now criminalizes the wounding of both religious and racial feelings (s498).
S377A serves public morality; the argument from community reminds us we share a way of life which gives legal expression to the moral repugnancy of homosexuality. Heterosexual sodomy unlike homosexual sodomy does not undermine the understanding of heterosexuality as the preferred social norm. To those who say that 377A penalizes only gays not lesbians, note there have been calls to criminalize lesbianism too.
Public sexual morality must buttress strong families based on faithful union between man and wife, the best model for raising children. The state should not promote promiscuity nor condone sexual exploitation. New section 376D criminalizes the organisation of child sex tours. Bravo.
The ‘argument from consent’ says the state should keep out of the bedroom, to safeguard ‘sexual autonomy’. While we cherish racial and religious diversity, sexual diversity is a different kettle of fish. Diversity is not license for perversity. This radical liberal argument is pernicious, a leftist philosophy based on radical individualism and radical egalitarianism. It is unworkable because every viable moral theory has limits to consent.
Radical individualism would demand decriminalising consensual adult incest; but the Penal Code is not based on consent as s376F reflects. The state has always retained an interest in regulating conduct in the bedroom – the issue is which type?
Radical egalitarianism applied to sexual morality says the state should not morally distinguish between types of consensual sex. It exudes a false neutrality but actually sneaks in a substantive philosophy: Hedonism which breeds narcissism. This extols satisfying desire without restraint as a matter of autonomy. But some desires are undesirable, harming self and society.
The argument from consent ultimately celebrates sexual libertine values, the fruit of which is sexual licentiousness, a culture of lust, which takes, rather than love, which gives. This social decline will provoke more headlines like a 2004 Her World article called: “Gay guy confesses: I slept with 100 men…one of them could be your hubby.” What about the broken-hearts involved?
If you argue from consent, how can you condemn any form of sexual self-expression, no matter how selfish or hurtful? But, no man is an island. Ideas, embodied in laws, have consequences. Don’t send the wrong message.
The issues raised in the Petition fall apart on rigorous analysis.
Rule of Law vs. Rule of Good Law
Sir, government policy is not to pro-actively enforce 377A. Some argue that just keeping this law on the books will erode the rule of law. I disagree. It is not turning a blind eye on the existence of homosexuals here; it is refusing to celebrate homosexuality while allowing gays to live quiet lives. This is prudent, as it is difficult to enforce ‘bedroom’ offences; such intrusive powers should be judiciously used anyway.
We have other hard-to-police laws which embody communal standards of public decency, such as laws against nudity visible to the public eye, even if you are at home. Law is a Moral teacher and makes a moral statement; 6 years ago, Singapore symbolically blocked access to 100 porn sites, as a ‘statement of our values.’ We value our values, while remaining realistic.
A non pro-active policy does not mean 377A will never be enforced – who knows what another season may require? Policies can change.
Sir, citizens are not just concerned with the rule of law but with the rule of good law. Laws which violate core moral values will alienate many and bring the system into disrepute. Indeed, many citizens see keeping 377A as evidence the government is defending the right moral values, which lends legitimacy.
Criminalising Moral Wrongs – which?
Sir, it is true that not all moral wrongs, such as adultery, are criminalized; yet they retain their stigma. But adulterors know they done wrong and do not lobby for toleration of adultery as a sexual orientation right.
Homosexual Agenda and Social Consequences
Conversely, homosexual activists lobby hard for a radical sexual revolution, waging a liberal fundamentalist crusade against traditional morality. They adopt a ‘step by step’ approach to hide how radical the agenda is. Liberals never ask: what happens next if you repeal 377A. Responsible legislators must see the Big Picture.
Pro-gay academics identify 5 main steps in this agenda in their study of foreign jurisdictions.
Step 1: repeal laws criminalizing homosexual sex. They consider this “pivotal” to advancing the homosexual agenda. Why? Without this, they cannot advance in the public sphere or push for government funding and support for special programmes, such as the New York Gay High School. Governments don’t promote criminal activities. You need to change the criminal law before changing civil law.
But decriminalizing sodomy is only the tip of the iceberg which is 1/8 of an ice mass – we must see what lies beneath the water to avoid a Titanic fate.
Step 2 is to equalize the age of consent for heterosexual and homosexual sex; in some countries, this is as low as 13. Do we want to expose Sec 1 boys to adult sexual predators? To be sexually creative?
Step 3 is to prohibit discrimination based on ‘sexual orientation’. But would this not include all sexual behaviour? “Sex before 8 or else it’s too late” is the motto of the North American Man Boy Love Association. Should we judge pedophilia or be relativist and promote “anything goes” sexual experimentation?
Sir, to protect homosexuals, some countries have criminalized not sodomy but opposition to sodomy, making it a ‘hate crime’ to criticize homosexuality. This violates freedom of speech and religion; will sacred texts that declare homosexuality morally deviant, like the Bible and Koran, be criminalized? Social unrest beckons. Such assaults on constitutional liberties cannot be tolerated.
Steps 4 and 5 relate to legalizing same-sex marriage or partnerships, child adoption rights. This subverts both marriage and family, which are institutions homosexuals seek to redefine beyond recognition. Will MOE then commission a book copying the US “Heather has 2 mummies” called “Ah Beng has 2 daddies?” What if parents disagree with their kids studying homosexual propaganda?
Is legalizing same-sex marriage progressive? It is if you want a genderless planet where “husband” and “wife” are considered discriminatory terms, to be replaced by “spouse”.
We want to be able to say, Majullah Singapura, not Mundur Singapura!
Repealing 377A will further batter the institution of ‘marriage’ which we must bolster! This is because the arguments raised to challenge a distinction between heterosexual and homosexual sodomy, equally apply to challenge legal distinctions between lawful heterosexual marriage between man and wife and unlawful homosexual unions.
To reinforce the moral foundations of a pro-family policy that permits only heterosexuals to marry, it is permissible to differentiate between heterosexual and homosexual sodomy. To say that 377A discriminates is effectively to say that marriage laws discriminate and are unconstitutional.
Legalising sodomy would set a bad example; by signaling approval, it may change both attitude and conduct; coupled with sexual hedonism, it makes a mockery of strong family values. 377A helps to protect against this harm.
Academic supporters of the homosexual agenda like my colleague Michael Hor argued online that even if 377A was not enforced, discriminatory policies against homosexuals could be built on the logic of its existence. But taking his logic, repealing 377A would mean the government would be less able to resist claims for homosexual marriage or for promoting homosexuality as a desirable lifestyle in schools, as this would be ‘discriminatory’. These foreign developments warn us that the advance of the homosexual agenda here is not remote.
To slouch back to Sodom is to return to the Bad Old Days in ancient Greece or even China where sex was utterly wild and unrestrained, and homosexuality was considered superior to man-women relations. Women’s groups should note that where homosexuality was celebrated, women were relegated to low social roles; when homosexuality was idealized in Greece, women were objects not partners, who ran homes and bore babies. Back then, whether a man had sex with another man, woman or child was a matter of indifference, like one’s eating preferences. The only relevant category was penetrator and penetrated; sex was not seen as interactive intimacy, but a doing of something to someone. How degrading.
It was only when marriage was invented by the Jewish Torah that the genie of sexual impulses was forced into the marital bottle, so that sex no longer dominated society – this discipline provided the social base for the development of western civilization.
Homosexuals as fellow citizens have the right to expect decent treatment from the rest of us; but they have no right to insist we surrender our fundamental moral beliefs so they can feel comfortable about their sexual behaviour. We should not be subject to the tyranny of the undemocratic minority who want to violate our consciences, trample on our cherished moral virtues and threaten our collective welfare by imposing homosexual dogma on right-thinking people. Keep 377A.
Democracy and Debate
Sir, we Singaporeans will continue to debate and disagree over controversial moral issues as they arise. We should make substantive arguments and not think with our feelings; the media should present both sides fairly, without bias.
However, I have noted a disturbing phenomenon over the 377A debate– the argument by insult. Instead of reasoning, some have resorted to name-calling to intimidate and silence their opponents. People with principled moral objections to the homosexual agenda are tarred and feathered ‘homophobes’, ‘bigots’, to shut them up. This strategy is unoriginally imported from foreign gay activists, which stifles creative thinking and intellectual enquiry.
When you shout, full of sound and fury, and call your opponents nasty names, this terminates public debate. No one wants to be called a bigot. But think about it – if I oppose incest, am I an incestophobe? If I oppose alcoholism, am I a winophobe? If having an opinion means you are bigoted, then we are all bigots! What is your phobia?
Where certain liberals accuse their opponents of being intolerant, they demonstrate their own intolerance towards their opponents! They are hoisted on their own petard, guilty of everything they accuse their detractors of!
One of my colleagues, a young professor, suffered these vicious tactics when the Straits Times published an article this May where Yvonne Lee argued against repealing 377A. This well-researched, cogent article so incensed homosexual activists that they flooded her with a torrent of abusive, lewd emails and wrote to her head of department calling for her to be removed from her job. This appeared to be a co-ordinated campaign.
We academics are used to disagreement, but why write to her employer and threaten her livelihood? Why vilify someone and seek to assassinate their personal and professional reputation? I hope the House joins me in deploring these malicious attacks which also assault academic freedom. She is owed an apology. I would be ashamed to belong to any academic institution that cravenly bowed down to such disgraceful bully-boy tactics.
This August, I had my own experience with this sort of hysterical attack. I received an email from someone I never met, full of vile and obscene invective which I shall not repeat, accusing me of hatemongering. It cursed me and expressed the wish to defile my grave on the day 377A was repealed.
I believe in free debate but this oversteps the line. I was distressed, disgusted, upset enough to file a police report. Does a normal person go up to a stranger to express such irrational hatred?
Smear tactics indicate the poor quality of debate and also, of character. Let us have rational debate, not diatribe, free from abusive rhetoric and tantrum-throwing. As Singapore approaches her Jubilee, My hope for the post-65 generation is that we will not become an uncivil civil society borne from an immature culture of vulgarity which celebrates the base, not the noble.
I speak, at the risk of being burned at the stake by militant activists. But if we don’t stand for something, we will fall for anything. I was raised to believe in speaking out for what is right, good and true, no matter the cost. It is important in life not only to have a Brain, but a Spine.
One of my favourite speeches by PM Lee, which I force my students to read, is his Harvard Club speech 2 years ago where he urged citizens not to be “passive bystanders” in their own fate but to debate issues with reason and conviction. I took this to heart. To forge good policy, we need to do our homework and engage in honest debate on the issues. Let us also speak with civility, which cannot be legislated, but draws deep from our character and upbringing. Before government can govern man, man must be able to govern himself.
Sir, let speaking in the public square with reason, passion, honesty, civility, even grace, be the mark of a Citizen of Singapore.
Now this is a speech! Wouldn’t it have been great if elected
officials in Massachusetts or in the other 39 states had made similar profound
arguments for retaining natural marriage and stopping the homosexual agenda in
this country! Wouldn’t it have been great if the constitutional lawyers
defending the statutes against gay marriage in the several states had relied on
these arguments in Obergefell v. Hodges.
Now let’s take a closer look at the extensive remarks in
this speech. Notice that in Dr. Li-Ann does not settle for stating “We must
oppose sodomy because it violates religious sentiment.” Notice also that she
did not settle for weak platitudes like “I just believe that sex should be for
marriage, and between one man and one woman.” In fact, she cites secular as
well as sacred sources for pushing back against repeal of 377a.
Dr. Li-Ann provides a stunning series of facts, research and
historical reasoning for opposition to homosexuality and retention of the
country’s anti-sodomy law. She even calls out the much larger LGBT agenda,
which will not only undermine public order but attack the individual liberties
of all Singaporeans. It was a surprise even to our organization that
homosexuality had not only been rampant in Ancient Greece, but even in Medieval
China!
Unlike American pro-family activists, she did not shy away
from discussing the physical and biological degradations of homosexual acts.
Notice again how she describes them:
Anal-penetrative sex is inherently damaging to the body and a misuse of organs, like shoving a straw up your nose to drink. The anus is designed to expel waste; when something is forcibly inserted into it, the muscles contract and cause tearing; fecal waste, viruses carried by sperm and blood thus congregate, with adverse health implications like ‘gay bowel syndrome’, anal cancer.
Homosexual acts are disgusting, degrading, and dangerous, and Dr. Li-Ann did not mince words. Since when have pro-family advocates made similar arguments here in the United States?
In her speech, Dr. Li-Ann enumerates the many arguments that
pro-LGBT activists make in favor of repeal, then demolishes them. She points
out all the hollow talking points about equality, fairness, “live and let
live”, and the most notorious talking point: “Why does anyone care what two
consenting adults do in private?”
Consider her expert response:
Third, to say a law which criminalizes
homosexual acts because many find it offensive is merely imposing a “prejudice”
or “bias” assumes with justification that no reasonable contrary view exists.
This evades debate. The liberal argument which says sodomy is a personal
choice, private matter and ‘victimless crime’ merely asserts this. It rests
precariously on an idiosyncratic notion of “harm” – but “harm” can be both
physical and intangible; victims include both the immediate parties and third
parties. What is done in ‘private’ can have public repercussions.
Notice also how she deliberately slams all the main arguments
in favor of repeal, calling them weak, ineffective, even evasive. This kind of
approach, pulling no punches and stating the biological facts and historical
truth about homosexuality vs. healthy, wise sexual practices, cannot be
underestimated.
Again, if American lawyers had relied on such similar
arguments in making their case against the striking down of anti-sodomy laws
(Lawrence v. Texas, 2003) or laws banning gay marriage (Obergefell v. Hodges,
2015), perhaps the United States and other countries would not be in the mess they
face today.
Thursday, April 2, 2020
It Hurts! (The Truth About Homosexual Behavior)
" ... [L]ike shoving a straw up your nose to drink." -- Dr. Thio Li-Ann, Singapore MP, describing anal sexIt's shocking to me the lengths that homosexuals will go to expose the broken, destructive aspects of their behaviors.
Consider this tweet:
my bf bought me male pads because i wouldn’t stop leaking ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ pic.twitter.com/vrfD6O7ALg— ughankk (@ughankk) March 28, 2020
This man tells the whole world that his boyfriend purchased sanitary pads, or sanitary napkins, to place in his underwear because he's "leaking".
Why is he leaking?
Sodomy involves one man's penis penetrating another man's anus. These behaviors damaging the disgestive system, including the excretory parts, i.e. the anus.
Dr. Thio Li-Ann, who served as a member of the Singapore parliament in 2007, shared these points about the negative health consequences of homosexual acts:
Sir, public health and safety is a legitimate purpose served by the 377A ban on homosexual anal and oral sex. Both these practices are efficient methods of transmitting sexual diseases and AIDs / HIV which are public health problems. These are not victimless crimes as the whole community has to foot the costs of these diseases.
Anal-penetrative sex is inherently damaging to the body and a misuse of organs, like shoving a straw up your nose to drink. The anus is designed to expel waste; when something is forcibly inserted into it, the muscles contract and cause tearing; fecal waste, viruses carried by sperm and blood thus congregate, with adverse health implications like ‘gay bowel syndrome’, anal cancer. ‘Acts of gross indecency’ under 377A also covers unhygienic practices like “rimming” where the mouth comes into contact with the anus. Consent to harmful acts is no defence – otherwise, our strong anti-drug laws must fall as it cannot co-exist with letting in recreational drugs as a matter of personal lifestyle choice.
Indeed, homosexual behaviors are inherent;y disordered and destructive. When someone says that LGBT behaviors are another form of "love of love", they have to explain to the public how anal penetration, oral sex, and other disgraceful behaviors somehow demonstrate love, affection, or respect for the other partner.
Such behaviors are harmful. Love is not supposed to hurt! Sex is not supposed to be a painful, but a pleasurable experience, allowing a man and a woman (not two men or two women) to express intimacy.
| Bobby Lopez (right) talks about the physical damage caused by homosexual acts |
Beyond the tweet shared above, or the clinic statements offered by Dr. Thio Li-Ann, let's consider what Robert Oscar Lopez, a former homosexual himself and currently a writer and research, shared about his same-sex experiences on the Eric Metaxas Show:
"I didn't know if I really liked this [homosexual acts with older boys] or not. There was a part of me that said 'There was some pleasure involved'. And there was a part of me that just felt disgusted by the whole thing.
"So I got into a habit of going out and seeking out the activity myself, and I never liked it."
There you have it. Homosexual acts are aberrant, deviant, but now even homosexuals themselves admit: It doesn't feel good.
And Bobby Lopez shares more:
"But I kept on seeking it out. It became a compulsive behavior. And sometimes, when I accepted money for it, that kind of made it OK in my mind. because it made it seem like it wasn't what I was doing. It became very self-destructive."
Then Lopez added:
"The LGBT ideology is based on a couple tenets, which through a combination of investigative reporting, scholarly research, and personal experience, I believe are false.
"One of them is that you're born gay.
"Another is that you know from a very young age.
"[The Third]: There's nothing wrong with the sex act. That there's nothing more objectively difficult about engaging in homosexual activity"
WOW! Bobby Lopez tells it as it is!
And he provides more information:
"The sexual behavior you [the homosexual] is engaging in is physically damaging to you."
And
"Acts of homosexual intercourse are very dangerous."
Then he went into greater details:
"The kind of things that men do together when they are alone, they are things that are more damaging to your body than normal sex between a man and a woman. They have long lasting effects. Some of the effects you don't know at the beginning because with repeated misuse of your body, the damage slowly becomes evident."An example?
"You have difficulty going to the bathroom."
Final Reflection
Former and active homosexuals alike cannot hide this truth: homosexual acts are destructive and aberrant. They harm the individuals who engage in the behaviors, and as Dr. Li-Ann shared in her parliamentary speech, they harm the public as a whole.
Homosexual conduct hurts! It should not be promoted, and anyone with any sense who wants to put a stop to this perverse behavior must demonstrate the boldness, the courate to speak the truth about the sexual acts themselves. They are harmful, not loving. They are demeaning, not enhancing. This is not about "love is love", but rather damaged individuals seeking love in someone of the same sex, only to find more hurt and pain.
Monday, March 30, 2020
Majulah Singapura! Nation's Courts Reject Legal Challenges to Anti-Sodomy Statutes
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| Flag of Singapore |
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| Flyer to Advocate for "Keep 377a" |
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed ...
"Repealing 377A is the first step of a radical, political agenda which will subvert social morality, the common good and undermine our liberties."
Yes, indeed. The tragic facts of this agenda cannot be ignored. Brian Camenker, the President of MassResistance, also declared forcefully: "The slippery slope is real."
From gay marriage comes the demands for all kinds of accommodations, privileges, and perks for the homosexual lobby. This agenda has gone so far, that in other Commonwealth countries like Canada and Australia, homosexuals can sue individuals and corporations for defamation or discrimination, because they are telling the truth about homosexuality! (Thank God for the First Amendment in the United States).
The Channel News Asia report continues:
| Roy Tan, Gay Activist and one of the three LGBT Litigans. He admits in interviews that he had sex with many other boys while in primary school |







