Gay mpaigners celebrate legal tone

THE AGE OF NSENT FOR GAY AND BI MEN WAS FALLY EQUALISED 20 YEARS AGO TODAY, MARKG A MAMMOTH VICTORY FOR LOVE

In the UK, the age of nsent is 16, and this is also the legal age for gay sex.

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

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.

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.

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.

A TIMELE OF GAY RIGHTS THE UK

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. Homosexual rights Great Bra and Europe: part 1, 1997 June 24 – 2000 Mar 29. Note the formaly of the phrase ‘Homosexual rights’ which is ed to scribe the document (and appears on the file ver) rather than ‘Gay rights’, for example, but this is to be expected when referrg to ernmental documents of this perd.

The file shows that he had only been Office for ls than two months when he started to prs for reform on the homosexual age of nsent. In this letter to John Prtt, the Home Secretary’s stated aim is clear: ‘the purpose of this letter is to seek lleagu’ agreement to rcg the homosexual age of nsent to sixteen’.

WHEN DID BEG GAY BEE LEGAL THE UK?

At the age of 17, 1994 Mr Sutherland had plaed to the Commissn that the higher age of nsent for homosexuals (18) as opposed to that for heterosexuals (16) was a breach of his right to privacy unr Article 8 of the European Conventn for the Protectn of Human Rights and his right not to be discrimated agast his private life unr Article 14.

Straw sought a al wh Stonewall, the UK lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr rights chary. On 8 January 2001, the Sexual Offenc (Amendment) Act fally me to force, rcg the age of nsent for gay and bisexual men to 16 England, Stland and Wal, and 17 Northern Ireland.

Gay mpaigners celebrate legal tone | Social re | The Guardian

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THE AGE OF NSENT FOR GAY AND BI MEN WAS FALLY EQUALISED 20 YEARS AGO TODAY, MARKG A MAMMOTH VICTORY FOR LOVE

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