• By Derick Colbert exaholic Tory MPs like Alan Clark fully reveal Tory hypocrisy about sexuality.
Tory MPs (along with a rump of bigots in the Labour Party) imposed further discrimination on gay men by voting for an unequal age of consent for gay sex of 18 compared to heterosexual sex at 16.
Yet their "real man" Clark is heralded as expressing his virility and criticised only for doing it with the lower classes!
If you discard all this Lord of the Manor rubbish it's clear that there is one rule for gay sex and another for heterosexual sex.
This is shown by the way that gay men were marched handcuffed by police through the streets of Manchester for "simulating" gay sex at a night club. When I was attacked five years ago by a queer basher I had no rights seeing as l had broken the law for, openly and in public, expressing my sexuality with another man. Whether for pretend or real, gay love is only allowed behind closed doors. Only when the police or government think it is right. Clause 28 reinforced this oppression. At 16 years, the Tory dribble goes, young men will be led "astray" by older men. Astray? Like handcuffed and led astray round the streets by older • By Kathryn Marshall elen Steel and Dav IMorris of Londo (police) men? Or astray Greenpeace, whose as they are attacked factsheet criticising (usually by men) at McDonalds was deemed school or college for libellous, have taken the being gay? All the time decision to stand up to gay sexuality is forced to hide itself away. Beth this huge corporation by and Chris, lesbian taking the matter to a partners in Brookside, trial. nave a constant worry Writ that they will be "found out". Why is it that McDonald's have slapped a libel writ on Lesbian sexuality is not even recognised by Steel and Morris? the government as Is it because they genu existing! So well done inely believe that the to 'Brookside' for factsheet is full of erronestarting to tackle the ous allegations? issue - but will Beth and This is unlikely, to say the Chris survive or will the least. What is being atfamiliar liberal plot of tempted here is the use of Beth re-realising her the legal system in order to heterosexuality in the prevent free speech. arms of a caring man be Prior to this case, McDonthe eventual story line? alds employed similar tacAs Chris said in an tics by threatening the BBC earlier episode, doesn't matter why you "it and Channel 4, as well as are gay, you just are!" various green groups, with money and time consuming What matters are the writs in order to shut them authoritarian commandoes who will up. screw anything that With Steel and Morris, they moves but who decide are at it again; the proce that we can't. It is time dures of libel laws are very to force them into a complex and that there is no closet and throw away legal aid. individuals with the key! few resources and little legal experience may well be inGet Active! timidated. Unfortunately for McDonLesbian, gay alds, Steel and Morris have bisexual or managed to acquire legal straight ? aid with the assistance of the National Council for Civil - find out about Liberties. However, this corthe Labour poration will go even further Campaign For to keep things hushed up; Lesbian And they have persistently withGay Rights. held documents relevant to the case and have pre Write to LCLGR vented there being a trial by at PO Box 306 jury, on the grounds that London N5 2SY people would not understand the case. Unfortu David, Helen and McGoliath nately again for McDonalds, but fortunately for everybody against censorship of this kind, the public are coming to understand the case perfectly well.
Jeremy Cor byn MP has put a motion in to Parliament making it clear that people do oppose 'the routine use of libel writs as a form of cen sorship".
As the defendants themselves say: "Free speech itself is on trial here, it is the right of any individual to voice criticisms against powerful business interests and we wish to maintain that right."
Contact the McLibel Support Cam paign, phone: 071-837 7557. Confidential
the new brutality • crimimal unjustice Don't Enact That Criminal Act Justice and Public Order Bill is a sweeping attack on the rights of everyone, especially young people.
It aims to: X Lock more young people up, instead of tackling the causes of YOUTH CRIME: unemployment, poor education and inadequate leisure facilities; X Abolish the right to SILENCE, making miscarriages of justice more likely; X Drastically reduce the right to PROTEST peacefully; X> Criminalise SQUATTING and unauthorised occupation of land, the main self-help strategies of homeless people; X Stamp out NON-CONFORMITY and diversity, by outlawing raves and festivals and making it virtually impossible to pursue a nomadic lifestyle. of criminal responsibility from 14 to 10.
People between 10 and 13 years old who are convicted of serious offences may receive prison sentences of up to 14 years instead of local authority care. New secure training orders will come in for persistent offenders aged 1214. The capacity of young offender institutions will be increased, and sentences extended up to 2 Prison reformers say the measures will double the number of young people in custody.
Presumed Guilty The right to remain silent during police questioning is essential.
Cases like that of the Guildford Four show that people are often bullied or confused into incriminating themselves through their statements, and being wrongfully imprisoned. Young people, black people, the Irish, are particularly vulnerable. Under the bill, silence can be taken as evidence of guilt.
land and try to disrupt or obstruct any lawful activity outdoors, they will be guilty of a new criminal offence, "aggravated trespass". This can be used against hunt-sabbing, free festivals, environmental direct action and militant industrial action, such as picketing.
Kill-Joy Cops
Clauses relating to "trespassory assembly" - where 20 or more people gather without permission on land where public access is restricted or denied - are designed to prevent unlicensed raves and festivals.
Police will have wide powers to ban (with council approval) all "trespassory assemblies" within a 5mile radius for up to 4 days, if they "reasonably believe" that serious disruption to the life of the community" or damage to sites of historical significance like Stonehenge) may occur. This has implications for demonstrations and raves.. Police can disperse raves and confiscate vehicles and sound systems - just consider the attack on our the right to present a case before the court. A landlord wishing to recover a property will be able to enter violently, causing distress to anyone inside. The Tories describe squatters as nasty people who take over homes and wreck them. The reality is rather different. Many squats are in uninhabitable council properties and repossessed houses which have been empty for months. Squatting is a lifeline to those too poor to rent. An Act of Class The bill protects the privileges of the 5% who own 75% of private land in Britain. It protects their leisure activities whilst outlawing those of the poor - free parties and festivals. It protects the profits of big right to party. business at the expense The terms "aggravated of the government, whilst trespass" and "serious taking away the right of disruption" are very broad the poor to shelter in in scope, and empty buildgive police ings or on unwide powers of Get Active! used land. interpretation. If you want to Travellers Police can turn will pay for join the back anyone "damaging suspected of resistance, the land" intending. to contact: The (lighting boncommit "ag- Advance Party fires or spillgravated tres- ing petrol) pass" or Network, PO whilst landattend Box 3290, owners can "trespassory London NW2. poison the assembly" 081-959 7525, soil with imputhus curtailing or The Freedom nity. civil liberties The Travelbefore any of- Network, 372 lers are seen fence is com- Coldharbour as subvermitted. Lane, Brixton, sive, with Travellers London SW9. their commuInal values, The bill will 071-737 6721. economic indrive trav dependence ellers, old and new, off the and rejection of consumland. Many will lose their erism. The Tories want to homes and possessions. turn them - and all of us -Police may order tres- into passive workers and passes with 6 or more ve- consumers. They're also hicles to leave, and seize exploiting prejudice about and destroy their vehicles "dirty gypsies". if they refuse, or return It is working-class youth within 3 months. Local who will bear the brunt of councils may order anyone the clampdown on crime. living in a vehicle on land No Trespasaran! or on a highway without It is working class and permission (or even permission on unoccupied black youth and the land) to leave. Disobedi- poor who will bear the ence will be a criminal of- brunt of this obnoxious fence. Councils will no piece of legislation. longer have to provide ade- It should be called the quate sites for Travellers. Criminal Injustice Bill - a Squatters crime against us! We must not let the landquatters will become owners, landlords, police criminals if they re or government trespass main in a property 24 against our rights - to prohours after a landlord has test. to nouse ourselves. obtained an eviction order. to travel, to assemble, to The landlord can seek party, to silence and to this without telling the protection against harasssquatter, denying her/him ment and discrimination. • By Duncan Chapel you want to go out and dance? You want to go out and dance at three in the morning?
Me too. The trouble is that Michael Howard and the forces of law and disorder seem to have got the Idea that raves are a major threat to society as we all know and hate The Criminal Justice and Public Order BIIis now making its way through the Lords fold men and, wornen who last raved about the threat posed by ragtime to the British Empire).
Though the Lords may well do a better job of opposing the Bill: than the Labour Party MPS who quite frankly would sell their grannies in order to get a vote:
Blair? Oh yeah!
Remember that Tony Blair's idea of a rave is a happy clappy god-fearing get-together at church on a Sunday evening. The last thing that any of the politicians want to see is youth coming together wihout asking the permission of the authorities first.
Going to a rave means that you're not going to make it to college or to work, (supposing that you're lucky enough to have a job), in the morning, or that you might get an attitude.
Police powers
In order to stop raves our rulers are prepared to give the police draconian powers that mean you can be arrested and roughed up as soon as you step out of your home. You can be arrested on suspicion or travelling somewhere... to a rave. Make no mistake - this is the re introduction by the front door of the "Sus" laws, which were used to harrass young black people in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Throwing away the Key The Bill lowers the age
The rights to party, to protest and to silence are all under threat The Tories are tooling up their state to crack down on disseni
Criminalising Protest If people trespass on
Our Right To Party Under Attack