Gay codebreaker Alan Turing received a special pardon. Stephen Fry, Benedict Cumberbatch and members of Alan Turing’s family have signed an open letter urging the British government to pardon 49,000 men who were prosecuted for being gay. Turing was himself pardoned in 2013, decades after he took his own life after being convicted of gross indecency in 1952. Campaigners would like the same for the tens of thousands of other gay men who were convicted. "The UK's homophobic laws made the lives of generations of gay and bisexual men intolerable,” says the open letter, printed in The Guardian. "It is up to young leaders of today including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to acknowledge this mark on our history and not allow it to stand." It adds “The apology and pardon of Alan Turing are to be welcomed but ignores over 49,000 men who were convicted under the same law, many of whom took their own lives. "An estimated 15,000 men are believed to still be alive." The campaigners have called for support from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, however the couple says it’s a matter for the government. An online petition has at www.Pardon49k.org has attracted more than 110,000 signatures. In New Zealand, a petition calling for the same has been launched. Find out more here
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 3rd February 2015 - 10:20am