Holyrood passes gay pardons bill

Men convicted in Scotland for homosexual conduct that is no longer criminal will receive automatic pardons under a bill that passed its final stage in the Scottish Parlliament yesterday.

Under the Historical Sexual Offences (Pardons and Disregards) Bill, passed by the Scottish Parliament by 119 votes to nil, such convictions will also be removed from central criminal conviction records. The bill could apply to convictions up until 2001, when the age of consent was equalised for same sex and opposite sex relationships.

Sex between women was never criminalised in the same way in Scotland.

The Equality Network estimates that the total number of these historical discriminatory convictions in Scotland runs into thousands, and that there are hundreds of men alive today with such convictions on their records. It predicts that it is likely to take some months for the Scottish Government to put in place the regulations that will set out how criminal records will be updated when a disregard is granted, and that the new law will come into effect towards the end of the year.

The pardon applies posthumously to people who are no longer living, as well as to those still alive. People who have one of these convictions on their records can have it removed (a “disregard”), so that it no longer shows up on criminal record checks for employment or volunteering.

Justice Secretary Michael Matheson, who brought the legislation to the Parliament, said: “This marks a key moment where we address a historic wrong, where the law criminalised people simply because of their sexual orientation. This bill can itself not right the massive injustice caused by laws that helped foster homophobia and hatred, criminalised acts between consenting adults, and stopped people from being themselves around their families, friends, neighbours and colleagues.

“But this legislation does send a clear message that these laws were unjust. The wrong has been committed by the state, not by the individuals—the wrong has been done to them.

“Scotland has come a long way in a relatively short period of time in progressing towards LGBTI equality, but we know there is more to do. This bill stands alongside the Scottish Government’s on-going work to tackle bullying, prejudice and discrimination and provide protections against bigotry and hatred.”

Tim Hopkins, Director of the Equality Network, commented: “We very much welcome the Parliament passing this bill unanimously. This is concrete recognition of the huge harm that was done to people who were prosecuted or lived under these old laws. Together with the First Minister’s public apology in the Parliament in November, the message is that Scotland has changed for good, and that discrimination is no longer acceptable.

“But LGBTI people continue to face prejudice and hostility, and there is much more to do. We look forward to continuing to work with the Scottish Government, on the forthcoming reform of the Gender Recognition Act, and other work to address homophobia, biphobia and transphobia, and to promote fairness for all.”