LONDON, Oct. 20 (UPI) — Thousands of gay and bisexual men convicted decades ago under a law that criminalized same-sex relationships will be pardoned, the British government said.
The Ministry of Justice announced Thursday it will formally pardon anyone convicted under the law as long as the same-sex relationship was consensual, the parties were over age 16 and sexual activity did not happen in a public restroom. The new law will also automatically pardon deceased people who were convicted of such sex acts.
Dubbed Turing law, it comes three years after computer scientist Alan Turing, who worked during World War II to break Nazi German codes, received a royal pardon for his 1952 gross indecency conviction.
“It is hugely important that we pardon people convicted of historical sexual offences who would be innocent of any crime today,” Justice Minister Sam Gyimah said.
In 1967, England and Wales decriminalized homosexual acts between two men. Laws against “gross indecency” and “buggery,” also used to prosecute gay men in more recent times, were removed as laws in 2004.
Lord John Sharkey, a Liberal Democrat, said up to 65,000 men who were convictedunder the abolished laws are still alive.
“This is a momentous day for thousands of families up and down the U.K. who have been campaigning on this issue for decades,” he said. “I am very grateful for the government’s support and the support of many of my colleagues in Parliament.”
