Re: Concerns about Singapore

[joel jaeggli <[e-mail]>]

On 4/9/16 2:33 PM, Melinda Shore wrote:
> On 4/9/16 9:15 AM, Yoav Nir wrote:
>> I’m sure they didn’t ask *you* any questions. But you might have gotten
>> some response if you tried to check in with another man into a room that
>> had just one bed.  I’m not saying that you would. I don’t know, having
>> never been in Singapore, but I can understand that it would be a concern.
> 
> I was discussing this a little bit with my partner this morning
> and she pointed out that in many cases where we would find the
> laws ridiculous, those laws are not actually enforceable (for
> example, French laws against women wearing pants).  

"Loi interdisant la dissimulation du visage dans l'espace public" is
probably also ridiculous but readily enforced and fairly recently
upheld, so it's not like interdictions on personal freedom, self
expression or conscience are not still being readily or facilely adopted
in Europe.  Which is not to say that  one views all such restrictions
as qualitatively the same, I do not.



> The problem
> with the situation in Singapore is that the laws that are on
> the books appear to be quite enforceable, with the Singapore
> Supreme Court having upheld laws banning consensual same-sex
> relationships as recently as late 2014 (one of the plaintiffs
> had been arrested in 2010).
> 
> To the extent that these laws appears to be enforceable and
> that there is uncertainty about whether or not some of our
> participants are likely to run into issues with public
> accommodation, etc., I'm grateful that the IAOC is treating
> this as a serious issue.
> 
> Melinda
>