Thirty years ago, New Zealand MPs voted to change the homosexual law. Before that, sex between men was a crime and the men could go to jail if they were caught. There was no mention of sex between women in the law. The Homosexual Law Reform Act was passed on 9 July 1986 by 49 votes to 44. Sex between consenting men over the age of 16 was no longer a crime.
The change to the law took many years following protests, angry debates and hate speeches from those who did not want change. Although NZ followed Great Britain in 1893 to make sex between men a crime, Britain changed the law in 1967 but NZ did not follow for some time. In the end, a Labour woman MP, Fran Wilde, introduced the Homosexual Law Reform Bill. MPs had a conscience vote. This means they can vote according to their own beliefs, not according to what the party tells them to do. Some Labour Party members and some National Party members voted for change, some did not.
The 1993 Human Rights Act says it is illegal to discriminate against anyone on the basis of their sexual orientation, religion, race, age, disability or gender. In 2005, homosexuals – gays and lesbians – could legally join their partner in a civil union. In 2013, they could marry their partner. NZ was the 13th country in the world to allow marriage between homosexuals.
Now, what about men who were convicted more than 30 years ago of homosexual acts? The Human Rights Commission thinks they should have an apology from the government.
Vocabulary
• MPs – Members of Parliament
• consent (v and n) – to say ‘Yes’
• debate (n) – discussions between people on both sides of an argument
• conscience (n) – what your beliefs about morals tells you; a religious word meaning what you believe is right or wrong
• discriminate (v) – treat someone differently because of their religion or other differences
• civil union (n) – a legal relationship between two people
• convicted (v) – found guilty in a law court