Previously I wrote a piece on Alan Turing and the absolute atrocity that was his treatment at the hands of the British government as a result of his sexual orientation. He has been pardoned, thanks in no small part to his hugely important work during the Second World War and continuous campaigning.
Turing’s pardoning, however, was not the end of the road for many campaigners, including Peter Tatchell. The onus has now been put on the British Government to pardon the other 49,000 men convicted of “gross indecency” or other laws that were blatantly homophobic and indicative of the state of gay rights pre-millennium.
This is important for many reasons. Whilst Turing’s pardon was a huge step forward and no less than he deserved in regards to his sickening chemical castration, with both Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the Queen offering official apologies, the fight goes on to rid the other thousands of men convicted under laws that should not, and are not applicable in a modern, tolerant society.
Whilst others did not crack the Nazi codes as Turing did, it is no less important that these men be acquitted of all relevant charges, and be offered an official apology on behalf of current Prime Minister David Cameron. The PM has done some good work in legalising gay marriage despite strong back-bench opposition from his party, but to really hammer home a message of equality, now is as good a time as any (in fact, about thirty years too late) to pardon the 49,000.
The physical and mental damage of the chemical castrations (consisting primarily of oestrogen injections) as an alternative to prison and the prison served on these men is untold. Whilst that cannot be reversed, it will surely provide solace to the aggrieved group (as well as their families, friends and acquaintances) that the crimes that they were found guilty of under the tenure of a callous and ungrateful government have been ousted from the records.
The petition gathers pace, and with several high ranking activists and over three hundred thousand members of the general public getting involved, the ball is now in the court of the Ministry of Justice.
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