Thu 9 Jul 2015 In: Our Communities View at Wayback View at NDHA
Fran Wilde, the Bill's sponsor Today marks 29 years since Homosexual Law Reform passed in New Zealand. As the community prepares for the major 30 year milestone next year, a powerful video has been released featuring footage from the crucial time in our history. After bitter public and political debate, Fran Wilde’s Homosexual Law Reform Act passed on 9 July 1986, by 49 votes to 44, and was signed into law two days later. It came into effect on 8 August that year. No longer would men having consensual sex with each other be liable to prosecution and a term of imprisonment. Like with marriage equality and civil unions later in our history, the community partied - opponents predicted doom and gloom. For the law reformers, it was still only a partial victory. The second part of the bill, which would have removed discrimination on the basis of sexuality, was rejected. Opponents argued that homosexuality was not a human rights issue and that discrimination was fair and acceptable. It wasn't until the Human Rights Act was passed in 1993 that it became illegal in New Zealand to discriminate on the grounds of sexual orientation. For transgender people, there is still no specific reference in that law. (Thanks to PrideNZ.com and NZHistory.net) Jacqui Stanford - 9th July 2015