Another country is clearing historical gay sex convictions
Another country is wiping sex convictions for gay men.
Men convicted of having sex with another man in New Zealand will soon see their convictions scrapped.
Gay men were criminalised in the country until 1986, when the law was dropped, but have lived with the convictions ever since.
A new scheme will clear the men found guilty of indecency, sodomy or providing a place for homosexual acts.
It’s thought more than 1,000 men will be eligible to have their convictions cleared.
The proposals have received cross-party support, meaning they’re likely to pass soon.
Justice Minister Amy Adams apologised to those who had been convicted, but said they would not receive any compensation.
Ms Adams said: “There is no doubt that homosexual New Zealanders who were convicted and branded as criminals for consensual activity suffered tremendous hurt and stigma.
“We are sorry for what those men and their families have gone through.”
Same-sex marriage became legal in New Zealand in 2013, in a move their new Prime Minister opposed at the time.
Same-sex marriages have also become a popular tourism industry for the country, with a quarter of all those conducted being from Australia, where it’s illegal.
The Minister also said: “We think this is a case where society is strongly of the view now that this should not have been regarded as a conviction, even though that was the law at the time.”
