Men with historical convictions for gay sex in UK to have criminal records erased

Men with age-old convictions for consensual gay sex are to have their criminal records erased, it was announced today. 

Under the new Protection of Freedoms Bill, convictions which were recorded from the 1956 Sexual Offences Act will be expunged from official records. 

The news means thousands of gay and bisexual men will no longer be deemed a criminal for simply having sex with their male partners.

According to the Independent, a government source said: "To maintain police records of such convictions and require them to be disclosed in effect maintains the discrimination against gay men that was inherent in these outmoded offences. Society has moved on."

Today's Bill also narrows the scope of the DNA database, imposes restrictions on CCTV cameras and scales back checks on people working with children.

Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, said the Bill marked a return to commonsense government whioch was compromised under Labour's rule.

Stonewall today welcomed the provisions. Chief Executive Ben Summerskill said: "For some gay men, these convictions have continued to overshadow their lives long after the offences were removed from the statute book.

"Britain has moved on. It’s only right that these men should be free to apply for jobs and voluntary roles without fearing that these historic and unjust convictions will be revealed through criminal record checks. Stonewall will be encouraging politicians of all parties to back the measures in the months ahead."

However, writer Jane Fae claims there is a grey area. She said: “Read the small print.  The Bill states that 'delete' means record with the details of the conviction or caution concerned the fact that it is a disregarded conviction or caution, and the effect of it being such a conviction or caution'.

“Only in the language of civil servants and bureaucrats does this mean deletion. If this is the best that government can do, they need to think again.”

Gay sex between men over 21 was decriminalised in 1967. The homosexual age of consent was reduced to 18 in 1994 and brought down to 16 – in line with the age of consent for heterosexual acts – six years later.
Peter Lloyd
pinkpaper.com