How many socialists know or care about Operation Spanner? Recently, a group of gay men into sado-masochistic sex (SM) were convicted of assault.
They received long prison sentences (up to four and a half years). They appealed, but the Court of Appeal upheld their conviction. It was one of the last Juagement it made readed by Lord Lane, notorious for dismissink the appeal gham Six, before he retired.
Their sentences, however were reduced to no more than three years, with 9OHEC of the "participants' getting only a few months. They had been convicted following a massive and complex police operation, Operation Spanner So why should socialists care if things get locked up? Clearly, there are some rather unappealing things going on like pseudorascist rituals, Prisoner/ warder role-plays and beatings.
But these convictions establish a new way for the courts to pry into our bedrooms and contribute to anti-gay opinion. And they establish a precedent, in a general sense, that is a very dangerous one.
This is the idea that a crime is a crime, regardless of whether there is any victim. This has been used to harass 'minorities' on but has been particularly aimed at lesbians and gay men.
The right to privacy is an imthat 'crimes' should not exist without victims, particularly when the parties involved freely Socialists should fight all such attempts to extend the law in this direction, criminalising lesbians and gay men and attacking civil liberties. would like us to auverse cease send details to Socialist Outlook,