Gay pardon bill introduced to Holyrood
Legislation to enable gay men with historical convictions for sexual activity to clear their records has been introduced to the Scottish Parliament.
Under the Scottish Government's Historical Sexual Offences (Pardons and Disregards) Bill, an automatic pardon will be granted to men convicted for same-sex sexual activity that is now legal, and they will be able to apply to have their convictions removed from central criminal conviction records. This "disregard" system will be important for those who work or volunteer in posts that require a records check.
Sexual activity between consenting adult males was a criminal offence in Scotland prior to the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980, and a higher age of consent than for opposite sex relations continued to apply until 2001. Sexual activity between women was not criminalised.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will make a statement of apology for these convictions in the Scottish Parliament this afternoon.
Cabinet Secretary for Justice Michael Matheson commented: “Scotland is an open and tolerant society, committed to respecting, protecting and implementing human rights and demonstrating equality, dignity and respect in everything we do.
“These discriminatory laws, although abolished, continue to have implications for people to this day and it is only right that we address this historic wrong, which criminalised people simply because of who they loved."
Responding to the introduction of the bill, Tim Hopkins, director of the Equality Network, said: “The bill and the First Minister’s apology are a hugely important statement that the Scottish Government acknowledges and regrets the discrimination of the past, and that Scotland is now committed to LGBTI equality. Of course nothing that is done now can repair the damage caused by past discrimination, but we welcome that the bill spells out that these convictions were wrong and discriminatory, and reinforces that, by granting an automatic pardon to all those convicted.”
The Equality Network points out that, following consultation with LGBTI organisations in Scotland, the bill avoids two significant flaws with the similar legislation in the rest of the UK. First, it provides an automatic pardon to all people who were convicted in Scotland under these discriminatory offences, posthumously for those who have died, and to those who are still living. In contrast, the legislation for the rest of the UK does not provide the pardon to living people unless they specifically apply for it, and as a result an estimated 98% of those living with these convictions in the rest of the UK have not received the pardon.
Secondly, the Scottish bill covers all the offences that were in the past used in this discriminatory way, including where men were convicted for “importuning” – simply for chatting up other men. The legislation in the rest of the UK does not currently cover those convictions.
Mr Hopkins added: “It has taken the Scottish Government a little longer to develop the legislation here, but that means there has been time to consult, and to learn from the debate about the way this operates in the rest of the UK. As a result, we have a significantly better bill.”