The Parliament of Gibraltar - a British territory bordering Spain - has rejected a Bill to reduce the age of consent for gay men from 18 to 16, which would have equalised it with the heterosexual age of consent. It was supported by a majority of government members but the opposition unanimously voted against it, on the grounds that it should have been a Government, rather than a Private Member's, Bill. "Gibraltar cannot be allowed to evade its human rights obligations," responded UK Human Rights campaigner Peter Tatchell to the Bill's defeat. "As a British Overseas Territory, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has ultimate responsibility for ensuring Gibraltar's compliance with human rights law," he said. "I urge the Foreign Secretary to read the riot act to Gibraltar's Chief Minister, Peter Caruana." Homosexual sex has been legal in Gibraltar since 1992.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News Staff
First published: Friday, 19th June 2009 - 5:21pm