Convictions for homosexual sex under old laws can be wiped under a law that passed Parliament tonight.
The Criminal Records (Expungement of Convictions for Historical Homosexual Offences) Bill passed its third reading on Tuesday evening with unanimous support.
The bill 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.
Good. At the same time, its not enough. The government has committed a huge historic wrong here, and its victims should be compensated. Arguing that compensation is inappropriate because it was all according to law misses the point - something can be lawful, but still grossly wrong. The systematic theft of land from Maori was lawful, and yet something we now recognise as wrong and deserving of (token) compensation. So why not the wrongful but legal persecution of gay men?