New Zealand: Justice Minister to push for expunging ‘grossly wrong’ historical gay sex convictions
New Zealand Justice Minister Amy Adams has said wiping historical gay sex convictions “would be a good thing to do.”
The statement came on Friday in an interview with The Dominion Post.
The new justice minister, following Judith Collins, said the issue has “cropped up” and she was willing to listen to thoughts and arguments on the matter.
She said: “I think it would be a good thing to do, because the law as it used to be was grossly wrong, and I think most New Zealanders now would recognise that.”
Sex between men was previously illegal in the country until 1986, with the passing of the Homosexual Law Reform Act.
However, Adams noted that wiping records would not be a straightforward process either.
“I have seen some numbers that suggest you would have to do it very carefully if you were to consider it, simply because a number of the offences under the old legislation would still be offences, so it’s not a broad brush.”
The former Minister of Justice previously voted against the country’s civil union legislation, although later come out in favour of marriage equality, same-sex couples adopting and legal recognition of gender identity for trans people.
In May this year, New Zealand also slightly relaxed its ban on gay men giving blood, changing the deferral period from 5 years to 12 months following sexual activity.
