Today is the final day to sign and post a petition calling for pardons for men who were convicted of having gay sex prior to Homosexual Law Reform. Petition organiser Wiremu Demchick has been gathering signatures throughout the country, including at this month's Big Gay Out in Auckland. Find the petition here Wiremu Demchick at the Big Gay Out He says while the Homosexual Law Reform Act was passed nearly 30 years ago, "our work isn't finished". He explains, "Men convicted of homosexual acts were never pardoned, and thus still have criminal records. Let's ask Parliament to pardon these men. They have waited long enough for justice." New Zealand has never mass-wiped pre law reform gay sex convictions, however there is capacity for people to have their conviction omitted. While the Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act which came into force in 2004 does not automatically conceal sexual offences from someone's record, people can apply to a District Court to have their conviction disregarded. This mechanism was recommended in part to ensure that historical gay sex convictions could be concealed.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 20th February 2015 - 7:19am