Thousands of LGBT rights activists supporters participated in the sixth yearly Pink Dot rally that was organized in Singapore on June 28th despite religious leaders and radical groups protesting against the festivity in the island nation a few days ago.
According to those who organized Pink Dot, a LGBT rights rally that promotes itself on #FreedomToLove, 26,000 people participated in Saturday’s event that was held at the Hong Lim Park, setting a record for the most attended queer meet in Singapore. Local media reports said that the day’s events were conducted peacefully despite many fearing that anti-LGBT protesters would attempt to disrupt the occasion.
Right before this year’s Pink Dot rally, radical Christian and Muslim groups spoke out against the event condemning it for its ‘immoral’ ideologies.
“We cannot and will not endorse homosexuality. We will continue to resist any public promotion of homosexuality as an alternative lifestyle,” said Lawrence Khong, a prominent Christian pastor in a Facebook post on June 23rd.
Reportedly, Khong called upon the government to ban the event that was to take place in less than a week’s time.
“Pink Dot's agenda goes against our national interest,” he said in a statement.
A similar anti-LGBT campaign was launched by Muslim radicals as well where believers were urged to wear white in order to usher in the holy month of Ramadan on Saturday. Reportedly, the ‘Wear White’ campaign was meant to counter the increasing normalization of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Singapore.
LGBT rights continue to be a contentious issue in Singapore with gay sex still being classified as a criminal offense in the island nation. Institute of Policy Studies conducted a survey in 2013 to reveal approximately 78 percent of Singaporeans believe that sexual relations between two adults of the same gender is always or almost always wrong.
“Pink Dot recognizes that many Singaporeans are conservative. However, we also recognize the dangers that prejudice and bigotry can have on our social fabric. Most LGBT Singaporeans are afraid to come out of the closet. This stems from a fear that the simple act of telling the truth can potentially pull them apart from the people that they love... Pink Dot believes that love is best built on a foundation of trust and honesty, not fear and shame. Change for the better happens through conversations, not cover-ups and covert lives,” said the rally's organizers on their website.
Pink Dot was launched in 2009 and since then, it has grown exponentially. While the first rally was attended by 2,500 people only, this year’s attendance went onto set a whole new record.
Photo Credit: The Blaze
