Gay men get suspended sentences
Bolton Seven should not have been charged
SEVEN gay men from Bolton have avoided imprisonment after being convicted of various
offences including gross indecency, age of consent and buggery offences.
However some of the men were given suspended prison sentences; others received
probation and community service orders.
They were convicted after videotapes of their sexual activities were sent to the
police. The gross indecency law dates from the 19th century, as does the buggery law,
although ‘updated’ by the 1967 Act. Oscar Wilde was convicted under more or less
the same law. This law forbids sexual acts between men if there are more than two persons
present.
In addition, three of the men were convicted under the age of consent laws because one
of the other men was aged 17 and a half. As a result, their names will be added to the
National Sex Offenders Registry as "Paedophiles".
Already they have been harassed and their homes firebombed. Yet no action would have
been taken if the men had been engaged in identical heterosexual acts.
The prosecution under the age of consent law for sex with a man aged just under
eighteen flies in the face of Labour’s manifesto commitments to equalise the age of
consent. It appears that the conviction and sentences were agreed by the Director of
Public Prosecutions, Barbara Mills, and endorsed by the Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine.
Irvine is a member of the Labour government and should be dismissed for this conflict with
declared government policy!
This is the first such conviction for several years, including under the last
government with its notoriously reactionary home secretary, Michael Howard!
For a long time, many gay organisations have been trying to establish liaison with the
police. This has broken down in Manchester as a result of this case.
The lessons of this are to some extent being learnt. The gay community cannot expect
the police to take their side. The history of harassment is too long.
The ingrained homophobia is reflected in the continued raids on gay men using toilets
and on gay clubs.
Another blow to the community came on February 17 when the European Court of Justice
ruled against Lisa Grant in her case against her employer, South West Trains. She was
claiming a travel pass for her partner, Jill Persey.
The Court had been expected to rule for her after the Advocate General had given a
preliminary opinion in her favour.
Gay community organisations such as Stonewall have for a long time expressed great
hopes that European bodies would be more favourable than the previous Tory government, and
indeed some decisions (such as over application of the 1967 Act in Northern Ireland) have
been favourable.
(Information from http://www.planetout.com and http://www.OutRage.cygnet.co.uk)
Click here to get
in touch with Socialist Outlook
Site
IndexWhat we fight for Current
IssueThe Fourth International About this
Site. Links