By: William Lopez, Staff Writer

In the days when Gay men in New Zealand were convicted of gay sex, times seem to have changed in New Zealand as after more than three decades when it was considered a crime to have sex with the same-sex, people are starting to get their criminal records cleared.

Justice Minister Amy Adams of Parliament, introduced a scheme on Thursday Feb. 9, in a way to wipe clean the criminal records of people convicted of indecency, sodomy and/or providing a location for homosexual acts (gay sex).  Justice Adams went so far as to apologize to those who had been wrongfully convicted but stopped short of saying that she supported any time of compensation.  In other words, the judge smells possible civil litigation coming soon after her order is carried out.

The order is broadly supported by lawmakers on both sides of the isle and is expected to be approved by their Parliament in the coming weeks. According to Justice Adams, the government estimate are that 1,000 gay men would be eligible to have their arrests and convictions quashed.

Homosexuality was finally decriminalized in 1986 when the country stepped up for human rights.  It took 17 years for the country to legalize same-sex marriage which took place in 2013.

“There is no doubt that homosexual New Zealanders who were convicted and branded as criminals for consensual activity suffered tremendous hurt and stigma,” Justice Adams told reporters. “We are sorry for what those men and their families have gone through.” said Adams.

Opposition lawmaker Grant Robertson, who is openly gay, supported the move. “This is really good news,” he tweeted. “Congrats to Amy Adams on righting this long-standing wrong.” said Robertson.

Adams further added…”This scheme is the first of its kind in New Zealand and had important legal and constitutional implications. It was possible to look back with hindsight and question whether it should have been done earlier.  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.  Those with convictions will still need to apply to have them wiped and have their cases assessed. That is because the law at the time didn’t distinguish between consensual and non-consensual same-sex activity.”, said Adams.

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