Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 18:29:18 -0700 (PDT) From: Ron Buckmire Subject: /qrd/orgs/iglhrc Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1998 17:26:58 +0100 To: sydney@mail.iglhrc.org From: Sydney Levy Subject: IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED: BRITISH GOVERNMENT MUST DEFEND EQUALITY! EMERGENCY RESPONSE NETWORK The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) Action Alert IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED: BRITISH GOVERNMENT MUST DEFEND EQUALITY! In a stunning reversal, Great Britain's House of Lords has voted to keep that country's discriminatory age of consent. The vote overturned a decision one month earlier by the House of Commons, which would have equalized the age of consent for gay men and heterosexuals. Urgent action is now necessary to keep the British Government from backing away from equality. The amendment to the Crime and Disorder Bill would have allowed gay men to have sex at the age of 16, the same age as heterosexuals. Leaders of all three of Britain's major parties supported the measure in the House of Commons, where it passed by a 3-1 majority. However, the House of Lords--the upper house of Britain's Parliament--rejected the measure by 2-1. As a result, the Government's entire package of criminal-law reforms was stalled. Prime Minister Tony Blair and his cabinet must now decide whether to continue pressing for equality, or to drop the amendment and reintroduce the bill without it in a later parliamentary session. UK activists believe he is leaning toward the latter. They ask for extremely urgent faxes and e-mails to the Home Secretary demanding that the Government insist upon passage of the age-of-consent amendment. The European Commission of Human Rights ruled in October 1997 that the discriminatory age of consent in Britain violated the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. While the ruling is not binding until affirmed by the European Court of Human Rights, a higher body, it was widely expected that the Court would agree. Tony Blair's Government had already stated that it would not contest the Commission's ruling. British activists called the vote by the House of Lords a direct challenge to the democratic process. The Lords are an unelected body composed of hereditary and appointed peers. Although never chosen by voters, they have veto power over most legislation. Angela Mason, Executive Director of Stonewall, a UK gay and lesbian group, said, "People are incensed by the Lords vote. Thousands of people across the country lobbied their elected representatives who listened carefully to the arguments on both sides and voted accordingly. The Government must ensure that the House of Commons vote for equality and social justice will prevail." The Home Secretary, Jack Straw, will decide by Monday, July 27, whether to reintroduce the Crime and Disorder Bill without the age-of-consent amendment. Please fax or e-mail him before then, demanding that the amendment remain part of the bill. Remind him that a democratic decision should not be annulled at the whim of an archaic, unelected body. Call his attention to Britain's obligations to respect the European Convention on Human Rights, which equally cannot be abrogated at the bidding of the Lords. Insist that he remain firm in his commitment to equality, and that he suspend further action on the bill until the Lords reconsider their decision. Write to: The Right Honourable Jack Straw, M.P. Home Secretary email: gen.ho@gtnet.gov.uk fax: 44-171-273-2190 You can also call the Home Office switchboard to express your opinions, at 44-171-273-4000. ***************************************************************** The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) , founded in 1991, is a San Francisco-based non-governmental human rights organization. IGLHRC's primary work is to monitor, document and mobilize responses to human right abuses against lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgendered people, people with HIV and AIDS, and those oppressed due to their sexual identities or sexual conduct with consenting adults. IGLHRC 1360 Mission Street, Suite 200 San Francisco, CA 94103 USA Telephone: +1-415-255-8680 Fax: +1-415-255-8662 Email: iglhrc@iglhrc.org To receive the ERN via email (saving printing costs, postage, and trees), write to macjordomo@iglhrc.org with the following message in the body of the email: For the English version: "subscribe ern-en < <" For the Spanish version: "subscribe ern-es < <" For the French version: "subscribe ern-fr < <" For example: "subscribe ern-en Jane Doe" If you would like to cancel your printed ERN subscription, let us know by contacting IGLHRC. Contact information is above.