Love ws! Age of nsent equalised for gay and bi men

Contents:

• EQUAL AGE OF NSENT: A PREHENSIVE HISTORY OF THE BATTLE FOR GAY PARY
• LOVE WS! AGE OF NSENT EQUALISED FOR GAY AND BI MEN
• STRAIGHT VS. GAY AGE OF CONSENT: THE DIFFERENCE

EQUAL AGE OF NSENT: A PREHENSIVE HISTORY OF THE BATTLE FOR GAY PARY

To mark LGBT + History Month, this blog post draws on a recently released Prime Mister’s Office file which documents a signifint advance gay rights soon after the turn of the lennium. The Sexual Offenc Act of 1967 reprented a partial crimalisatn of male homosexualy: allowed two men to have sex private England and Wal provid they were over 21; much later, this provisn was extend to Stland and Northern Ireland.

LOVE WS! AGE OF NSENT EQUALISED FOR GAY AND BI MEN

Over time, the age of nsent for gay men beme a live and ntent issue UK polics.

In 1994 Conservative MP Edwa Currie troduced an amendment to lower the age of nsent for homosexual acts, om 21 to 16 le wh that for heterosexual acts. Movg the amendment on 21 Febary 1994, Mrs Currie clared: ‘It is the first time over a quarter of a century that the age of nsent for homosexuals has been discsed by the Hoe of Commons. The taboo of silence that has nied the sexualy of young gay men has been cisively broken.

STRAIGHT VS. GAY AGE OF CONSENT: THE DIFFERENCE

However, Edwa Currie’s amendment was feated and the gay male age of nsent was stead lowered to 18. The promise did ltle to plate the thoands of angry gay rights monstrators who had gathered outsi Parliament. The next polician to take up the mantle and advote for change on the age of nsent for gay men was Jack Straw, who served the Cabet om 1997 to 2010 unr the Labour ernments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

In his memoirs Straw gave powerful ttimony about the terrible st ed by the burns of shame and huiatn that were borne by young gay men.