After four years of delays Commission admits gays repressed in N.Ireland

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ANTI-FASCISTA But instead of extending the Down Grand Arch Royal Purple law Mason opened a period of Chapter, the Grand Orange "public consultation" in the full Lodges of Belfast, Antrim and knowledge that this would allow Ireland, along with nine the mobilisation of a massive Unionist-dominated district reactionary religious campaign councils and a motley collecaminet the richte of hamn- tinn non_ranfarmict and In 1978, under pressure signatures on his "Save Ulster from protests at a grotesque from Sodomy" petition to injustice, the Labour govern- prevent the order being signed. ment published its intentions to At the same time the British extend the limited 1967 Act to government received objections Northern Ireland. (The 1967 from one doctor, four lawyers, Act de-criminalised sexual 304 other private individuals, relations in private between two from the Christian Democratic men). Socialist Party, the County THE LAW TODAY IN NORTHERN Offences Against the Person Act 1861 61. Whosoever shall be convicted of the abominable crime of buggery, committed either with mankind or with any animal, shall be liable to be kept 62. Whosoever shall attempt to commit the said abominable crime, or shall be guilty of any assault with intent to commit the same, or of any indecent assault upon any male person, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and being convicted thereof shall be liable to be kept in penal servitude for any term Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 11. Any male person who, in public or private, commits, or is a party to the commission of, or procures or attempts to procure the commission by any male person of any act of gross indecency with another male person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and being convicted thereof shall be liable at the discretion of the court to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years.

Not for the first time, an official institution of the European bourgeoisie has been unable to avoid the conclusion that the British government has violated "human rights" in Northern It has now been widely leaked that the European Human Rights Commission, (a part of the Council of Europe, not the EEC) has found in favour of Jeff Dudgeon, secretary of the Northern Ireland Gay Rights Association (NIGRA), on one of the three grounds of the complaint which he first made in 1976. His "right to non-interference in private life" has been found to have been violated by the existing law.

Since the law prohibits in Northern Ireland, as it did in England and Wales until 1967, and still does in scotland too, all sexual relations between adult men, it is laughable that it has taken this body which is supposed to be a watchdog of human rights in Europe four whole years to decide that the rights of gays are violated by this viciously repressive law.

But despite the absurdity of taking so long to conclude the more than obvious, the shortlyto be-published judgement is nevertheless one which is a grave potential embarassment to the Thatcher government and could also have wider political repercussions in Europe. (For instance, both the Republic of Ireland and Cyprus still maintain a legal ban on all gay sexual sexuals. relations). in penal servitude for life. Marching for gay rights-London 1978 01ттЯтт _АІТІАТТ LUDL sectarian churches, including the Mormons.

Paisley collected 70,000 In favour of the order, aside from various gay rights organisations, were the Social Democratic and Labour Party, the Alliance Party, the Unionist Party of Northern Ireland and the Liberal Party, along with the British government-appointed Standing Advisory Committee on Human Rights.

Mason

Northern Ireland Secretary Mason and the rest of the Labour government have attempted to create the idea that they wishes of human accellt SuDDOTLCS hullal rights, to implement the order, but were prevented from doing so by their respect as good and decent democrats, by the obvious weight of public opinion against implementation.

This position is hypocritical and fraudulent. That of course is apparent in general from the whole nature of the Labour overnment's imperialist policies in Northern Ireland which made perfectly plain that it had no respect whatever for either so-called human rights or democracy.

The specific fraud becomes even more clear from reading the - Labour government's submission to the European Human Rights Commission which considered the complaint brought by Jeff Dudgeon.

In three submissions, dated February and August 1977 and March 1979, the "Agent of the United Kingdom Government" while arguing that the government had not yet made up its mind whether to introduce the order, produced arguments which not only defer to 'public opinion' in Northern Ireland but which also in effect oppose legal rights for gay people anywhere.

Mason's Agent said that it is:

"plain, on the one hand, that while there has been an advance in knowledge, it has by no means reached a stage where it can be determined with any degree of certainty how particular individuals will react to homosexual experience; and that, on the other hand, that homosexual behaviour raises issues of a moral character on which many sections of society hold strong views, both on religious and other grounds... the fact that ... Northern Ireland is a region where values are strongly based on religious foundations, provides a substantial argument for the retention of legislative provisions which are calculated to reinforce and maintain those values." (Supplementary Observations of the Government of the UK, In the March 1979 submission the "Deputy Agent of the UK" , a Mrs Audrey Glover, develops a more full-blooded defence of the reactionary law.

There is, she says, a moral case for the law and the difference in treatment (between homosexuals and heterosexuals):

"has an objective and reasonable justification. The law is designed in part to protect young males from influences and pressures of an undesirable kind... which can be harmful to psychological development.

«Similar influences and pressures do not exist in relation to heterosexual relationships. The law is also designed to uphold the moral standards supported by significant elements of the Northern Ireland community.

"These standards tend to protect the family as a fundaGA mental social unit and the threat to the position of that unit as the basic constituent of society comes more from homosexual than from heterosexual relationships.

'The means used present law (the threat and use of criminal sanctions) are not disproportionate to the aims of the legislation." (Observations of the government of the UK, 20 March 1979 Section IV).

Glover adds for good measure a justification of the difference between the treatment of male and female homosexuality claiming that 'homosexuals exhibited a tendency to proselytise other males, especially adolescents. The moral factors present do not exist to anything like the same extent in relations to female homosexuality.

So, in spite of its claim to wish to extend the 1967 law as long as it did not violate its "very special responsibility to ensure that the wishes of the people of Northern Ireland are taken into account" , the Agents of Callaghan and Mason were producing their own moral arguments for the repression of gays which are virtually indistinguishable from those of lan Paisley, the Ayatollah Khomeini, Stalin, Hitler or Anita Bryant.

The logic of the Labour government's position was that even the 1967 Act should be reversed in England and Wales.

But what finally proves the hypocrisy of the Labour government's position is the sordid deal which it did in its last few months in office when it reached an agreement with the Ulster Unionists that it would not introduce the Order if it received a parliamentary lifeline from the Ulster MPs.

The barbarically reactionary observations quoted above were significantly written after this deal had been made. Mason The opinion of the Human Rights Commission when it is made public, probably in a few weeks time, will produce further pressure on Mason's Tory successors to introduce the order. Northern Ireland Minister Atkins has said that he has no intention at present of introducing it but may review that if circumstances changed (widely believed to be a reference to the Commission's judgement).

All socialists must give complete support to the struggle of gay people in Northern Ireland for the most elementary legal rights.

This depends in no way on the opinions of a 'Human Rights' Commission which takes four years to decide that 10 years potential imprisonment for normal sexual conduct represents discrimination.

But the judgement will be the occasion of mobilisations by gay organisations throughout Western Europe against the reactionary position of the British government. Socialists should support those mobilisations.

But it is important that a campaign on this issue should in no way tie itself to the 1967 Act which applies in England and Wales.

That law itself is extremely discriminatory against homosexuals. It legalises only. conduct between two people "in private"-which doesn't include public lavatories and similar places which are the site of massive police repression of gays.

The number of convictions for indecency offences has risen since the introduction of the 1967 law.

And the 1967 law establishes a legal age of consent for sexual conduct between males of 21 compared with 16 for women in heterosexual relationships. (There is no age of consent for males in heterosexual relationships).

As socialists we reject this discrimination, but in the context of opposition to any age of consent or any other attempt by the bourgeois state to control sexual conduct.

It is also important that in any campaign around the question of gay rights in Northern Ireland it must be clearly stated that the question of gay oppression is not separate from British imperialism as a whole.

One of the main reasons why gay men have even less legal rights in Northern Ireland than in England and Wales is, as the filthy political deal between Mason and the Unionists shows, the need of British imperialism (under Labour as well as Tory governments) to maintain an alliance with the reactionary, barbaric forces of Unionism.

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