This DJ Is Challenging Singapore's Gay Sex Ban

A tide of change is lapping at the shores of southern Asia. The decriminalizing of gay sex in India last week has galvanized people in the region to take more strides towards equality, with the newest push coming from a DJ in Singapore.

Related | Landmark Ruling: India's Top Court Decriminalizes Gay Sex Acts

Johnson Ong, whose stage name is DJ Big Kid, is challenging Section 377A of Singapore's law that states that incidents of "gross indecency" between men are punishable by up to two years in prison. The law, similar to India's former edict, is a remnant of British colonial rule.

Ong's case is the first one brought against the homophobic law since 2014. Though authorities have promised not to enforce that section of the country's law, officials have been reluctant to remove it outright because of the country's strong conservative presence.

"I am considered a criminal in the eyes of the law and that is an emotional and psychological burden that I carry around as I go through life that no heterosexual Singaporean has to," said Ong to the Huffington Post.

Ong plans to present evidence that shows "sexual orientation is unchangeable or suppressible at unacceptable personal cost" in court, with a pre-trial conference set for September 25. Petitions have been started both for and against repealing the law, with those in favor of keeping the homophobic rule in place having around three times as many signatures.