Having promised it for months, National has finally introduced its bill to wipe historic homosexual convictions:
A bill to expunge the historical convictions of gay men charged with homosexual activity has been introduced to Parliament.
The Criminal Records (Expungement of Convictions for Historical Homosexual Offences) Bill was announced in February by Justice Minister Amy Adams.
It will set up a system where men charged with consensual homosexual conduct (or their families) under old laws can apply to have those convictions wiped from the record.
The Justice Ministry believes there are around 1000 of these men still alive.
"The tremendous hurt and stigma suffered by those who were affected can never be fully undone, but I hope that this Bill will go some way toward addressing that," Adams said.
About time. And its a good gesture. At the same time, its worth pointing out that Germany is compensating the victims of its past anti-homosexual laws. "Progressive" New Zealand OTOH, includes a clause specifically denying any entitlement to compensation. I guess actually righting the wrongs of the past is too much for National.
