Gay activism and law reform – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Contents:

• TIMELE: GAY RIGHTS NEW ZEALAND
• NZ’S QUEER HISTORY: 50 YEARS OF GAY LIBERATN
• GAY RIGHTS
• GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT
• PAGE 2. GAY ACTIVISM AND LAW REFORM

TIMELE: GAY RIGHTS NEW ZEALAND

Sex between women was not illegal, but many lbians suffered the same social discrimatn as gay men and so were stnch supporters of mpaign to reform the law extend beyond the gay muny to wir issu of human rights and discrimatn. ’, a documentary broadst on Natnal Rad on 9 July 2006, the 20th anniversary of the fal vote of the prott and rally d was origally rerd for Accs Rad programm ma by the Gay Broadstg Collective and had not prevly been broadst natnally. Labour Party MP Gea Beyer hugged by then Prime Mister Helen Clark after her main speech to Zealand has bee the 13th untry the world to legalise same-sex bated the biggt change to gay and transgenr rights sce homosexual law reform 25 years ago, wh a historic vote on the third readg of the Marriage Amendment Bill.

The bill passed wh 77 vot to through our teractive timele above to see NZ's history of gay om New ZealandWhanganui tops tourism growth tabl two months a rowThe growth at a time when tourism is ually quieter the regn. Current statSce Feb 1, 1994Illegal some ntexts Unr sectn 21 of the Human Rights Act 1993, discrimatn agast "heterosexual, homosexual, lbian, or bisexual orientatns" is prohibed, wh no other sexual orientatns beg protected.

However, protectns only apply to those of heterosexual, homosexual, lbian, or bisexual orientatns, and currently genr inty is ambiguoly regard as beg protected unr the ground of sex.

NZ’S QUEER HISTORY: 50 YEARS OF GAY LIBERATN

” In a prs release for the 2007 nference, Post Primary Teachers’ Associatn Print Rob Duff said that the PPTA had been workg on the issu sce the late 1980s, while 17-year-old Peter Hotere reunted how he had left school bee of homophobic harassment. The Gay Liberatn Front emerged to mand change laws and early 1972, Gay Liberatn groups sprang up Auckland, Wellgton and Christchurch after the amic Ngahuia Te Awekotu was nied a perm to vis the USA on the grounds that she was homosexual. ” Prottg unr the Queen was signifint, as was through Brish lonisatn and the adoptn of the Brish legal system 1840 that homophobic laws were subsequently enacted New Zealand.

While there had been earlier public meetgs to advote for homosexual law reform, the Gay Day event was one of the first ocsns when rabow activists took to the streets to mand liberatn.

The se hosted pag for, among others, the New Zealand AIDS Foundatn, Body Posive, Aoraki Lbian & Gay Group (Tima), the Feratn of Gay Gam (New Zealand) and Wellgton Lbian Events. While MP Louisa Wall’s legislatn didn’t ga unanimo support (77 ay/44 no), was more accepted than the civil unn legislatn 2004 (65 ay/55 no), and the earlier homosexual law reform 1986 which only passed by four vot (49/44).

GAY RIGHTS

The Ugandan Parliament passed the Sexual Offens Bill, further crimalizg same-sex sexual has remaed stnchly homophobic both terms of legislatn and the general sentiment of ernment officials.

Acrdg to the Frankl & Marshall Global Barometer of Gay Rights, which measur how well untri protect the rights of LGBTQ+ people, Uganda sr 11%, meang the natn persecut people based on their sexual orientatn or genr inty. Consensual, same-sex relatns are illegal Uganda as a rult of lonial-age laws that still exist the untry, but that has not stopped polins om attemptg to further crimalize homosexualy. ” While the Anti-Homosexualy Act was eventually stck down 2014, vlence agast LGBTQ+ people Uganda surged due to the outspoken, homophobic remarks promoted by ernment, the Ugandan Parliament has once aga passed a bill that seeks to further crimalize homosexualy.

— Sexual Mori Uganda | SMUG (@SMUG2004) May 5, 2021LGBTQ+ rights anizatns like Sexual Mori Uganda have highlighted the homophobic language and lled on the ternatnal muny to speak out agast the bill. While many human rights advot believe that Print Yoweri Meveni will not assent to the bill, they are also worried that the nature of homophobia prented by ernment officials will lead to an crease vlence and discrimatn agast LGBTQ+ people, as the se of the 2014 Anti-Homosexualy Act. In addn to statg he would be “pable of lovg a homosexual son, ” Bolsonaro has ed rogatory terms meant to cricize LGBTQ+ people and cricized the Brazilian Supreme Court for crimalizg homophobia.

GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT

A vlent crime agast an openly gay man the cy of Florianópolis earlier this month has prompted wir discsn of the paradox between the promotn of LGBTQ+ rights and discrimatn agast queer people. Thoands of LGBTQ+ people across the world are unable to celebrate Pri bee of vlence, discrimatn, and harrassment, particularly one of the 69 untri that ntue to crimalize homosexualy.

There are a full range of laws supportg the gay muny place New Zealand – same-sex sexual activy has been legal sce 1986, there are extensive discrimatn protectns and was the 13th untry the world to legalise gay marriage.

When relig settlers brought Christiany to the islands they also brought the notn that homosexualy was a s and subsequently New Zealand adopted Brish law, crimalisg same-sex sexual activy.

PAGE 2. GAY ACTIVISM AND LAW REFORM

It’s worth notg that gay or straight, New Zealand is not a party statn – if gay travellers are prrisg back-to-back partyg and sndalo nights out then Bangkok, Berl or Mykonos might be better statns. Before gettg to specifics, ’s worth remdg potential gay travellers that there are lots of small, isolated towns and villag sttered about the unspoiled landspe of the untry which might have ls progrsive views. The suatn for members of the queer muny is better than the vast majory of other untri the world, so gay travellers should travel there to support the stance on LGBT rights New Zealand.

'Natnal MP Norman Jon addrsg a public meetg 1985 LAGANZ 0080-B, Peter Nowland CollectnOpponents were supported by anisatns such as the Salvatn Army and by well-known overseas mpaigners agast homosexualy – the Reverend Lou Sheldon and John Swan particular.

Their arguments often rted on moral and relig grounds: that homosexualy was 'unnatural' and that the Bible nmned people argued that the law would lead to more homosexualy and eventually to the llapse of the fay un.

Homosexualy and paedophilia – sex wh children – were sometim regard as the same of those opposed to the legislatn also raised the spectre of AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). 'Bigot Bters rally at Wellgton Town Hall LAGANZ 0503-BGroups such as the New Zealand Homosexual Law Reform Society, the Gay Task Force, Heterosexuals Unaaid of Gays (HUG), the Lbian Coaln and the Campaign for Homosexual Equaly tried to unter their opponents many ways. ’, a documentary broadst on Natnal Rad on 9 July 2006, the 20th anniversary of the fal vote of the prott and rally d was rerd for Accs Rad programm ma by the Gay Broadstg Collective and had not been broadst natnally.

E., for lbians, gays [homosexual mal], bisexuals, transgenr persons, and queer persons); seeks to elimate sodomy laws; and lls for an end to discrimatn agast LGBTQ persons employment, cred, hog, public acmodatns, and other areas of life. (Although the term gay is monly ed reference to homosexual mal, is also ed more generally to refer to homosexual mal together wh some or all other orientatns wh the LGBTQ muny. ) Gay rights prr to the 20th century Relig admonns agast sexual relatns between dividuals of the same sex (particularly men) long stigmatized such behavur, but most legal s Europe were silent on the subject of homosexualy and bisexualy.

Dpe Paragraph 175 and the failure of the WhK to w s repeal, homosexual and bisexual men and women experienced a certa amount of eedom Germany, particularly durg the Weimar perd, between the end of World War I and the Nazi seizure of power. In the Uned Stat this greater visibily brought some backlash, particularly om the ernment and the police: the ernment often fired gay civil servants, the ary attempted to purge s ranks of gay soldiers (a policy enacted durg World War II), and police vice squads equently raid gay bars and arrted their patrons.

In the Uned Stat the first major male anizatn, found 1950–51 by Harry Hay Los Angel, was the Mattache Society (s name reputedly rived om a medieval French society of masked players, the Société Mattache, to reprent the public “maskg” of homosexualy), while the Dghters of Bilis (named after the Sapphic love poems of Pierre Louÿs, Chansons Bilis), found 1955 by Phyllis Lyon and Del Mart San Francis, was a leadg group for women. In Bra 1957 a missn chaired by Sir John Wolfenn issued a groundbreakg report (see Wolfenn Report) remendg that private homosexual liaisons between nsentg adults be removed om the doma of crimal law; a later the remendatn was implemented by Parliament the Sexual Offenc Act. In the 1970s and ’80s, gay polil anizatns proliferated, particularly the Uned Stat and Europe, and spread to other parts of the globe, though their relative size, strength, and succs—and toleratn by thori—varied signifintly.

Now headquartered Geneva and renamed the Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn (ILGA World), plays a signifint role ordatg ternatnal efforts to promote human rights and fight discrimatn agast LGBTQ and tersex persons.