Singapore's parliament on Tuesday, Nov. 29, repealed a law criminalizing sex between men that had been in effect since the country was a British colony. Under that law, gay sex was punishable by two years in prison.

The law has recently been widely criticized as discriminating against the LGBT community. Previously, there had been several attempts to repeal it in court. The island's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke of his intention to repeal the law in the near future.

Singapore's parliament passed an amendment to the country's constitution that enshrines the definition of marriage solely as the union of a man and a woman. This closes the door to the potential legalization of same-sex marriage, which has caused disappointment in the local community.