John Nicholson MP Despite hopes of gay men who have a criminal record after being historically convicted of same-sex intimacy before anti-gay sex laws were struck down having their convictions wiped, the UK parliament has given the proposal the thumbs down. SNP MP John Nicholson had introduced a private members bill, called the Sexual Offences (Pardons) Bill, but the government, led by conservative Tory MPs, voted it down on its first reading. Justice Minister Sam Gyimah said Nicholson's Bill could lead to other, still criminal, offenses also being struck off people's records. He told Parliament a law change proposed by the Ministry of Justice would be " both faster and fairer." However, the Ministry of Justice amendment would only be applied posthumously. Speaking during the debate, Mr Nicolson said "I have to ask the House, should we not prioritise the living over the dead?" In New Zealand Justice Minister Amy Adams has followed the samer line as the UK Justice minister, saying a pardon bill in New Zealand would not be feasible sue to the apparent huge difficulty of separating 'now legal' offenses from those which remain illegal.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Sunday, 23rd October 2016 - 10:51am