I see your point. Other countries have similar laws, and homosexuality was already illegal in Brunei before this change. (And by the way, it’s not just about “immoral acts in public.” Consensual homosexual sex in private is a punishable offense in Brunei.) I think, though, that this case was particularly shocking because it was a strengthening of a law, making the punishment MORE strict, in a day and age when homosexuals are finally being accepted in so many societies. It increases the punishment for male homosexuals from 10 years in prison to death! Yes, the fact that it’s about sharia law may get people worked up in some places, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that it’s a cruel and unacceptable law!