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Gay Law Reform Gets Public Notice |
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Compiled by GayToday
Local Gibraltar gay activist, Felix Alvarez, from the campaign group, Gib Gay Rights, has praised the OutRage! letter as "hitting the bulls-eye". "The Gibraltar Chronicle carried the story on the first, second and third pages - filling nearly all of the front section of the paper", said Alvarez. "They published the full text of Peter Tatchell's three-page letter and had their first ever editorial on gay rights, which was mostly fairly positive. The story was also covered on radio and television news", said Alvarez. OutRage!: Open Letter to the Chief Minister:
Hon Peter Caruana QC Chief Minister Government of Gibraltar 6 Convent Place Gibraltar 6 November 2000 Lesbian and Gay Rights in Gibraltar I am writing on behalf of the London-based human rights group, OutRage! We campaign for lesbian and gay equality in the UK - and throughout the world. It is a matter of grave concern that homophobic discrimination continues unabated in Gibraltar, and that there is no progress towards ensuring full and equal human rights for your lesbian and gay citizens. Gibraltar wants the human rights of its people to be acknowledged when it comes to the issue of autonomy. The majority of your citizens have no wish to be incorporated by Spain. Most want to retain their historic ties with the UK. All believe that the people of Gibraltar should have the right to determine their own future, claiming the right to self-determination as a fundamental human right. This desire that the human rights of Gibraltarians be respected is understandable and commendable.
This limited decriminalisation has not, of course, ended homophobic discrimination. While consenting adults in private are no longer punished for homosexual relations, a number of discriminatory sexual offences laws remain on the statute book: laws that penalise homosexuals but not heterosexuals. Gay relationships are only legal if they take place in "private". But "private" is interpreted much more strictly when it comes to homosexual acts, compared to heterosexual ones. In fact, gay sexual relations continue to be illegal if they take place when any other person (male or female) is present within the same dwelling (even if they are in another room!). In the UK, this draconian privacy rule governing sex between men has led to the Government being condemned recently by the European Court of Human Rights (in the ADT case). This ECHR ruling will require Britain and all other Council of Europe member states to reform their laws to end anti-gay discrimination in the interpretation of what constitutes private sexual relations. The gay offences of "buggery" and "attempted buggery"--which date to the reign of King Henry VIII--are still applicable under Gibraltar law. So too is the gay offence of "gross indecency"--the same law under which Oscar Wilde was tried and jailed in 1895. These offences carry the following penalties: Buggery: a maximum of life imprisonment Attempted buggery: a maximum of 10 years imprisonment Gross indecency: a maximum of 2 years imprisonment In addition, Gibraltar has still not equalised the age of consent between homosexual and heterosexual citizens. They currently stand as follows: For heterosexuals: 16 years For male homosexuals: 18 years As well as discrimination in sexual offences law, there are also many other areas of legal discrimination against Gibraltar's lesbian and gay citizens. In particular, no reforms have taken place to remedy homophobic discrimination in many key areas of law that still deny equality to homosexual men and women. To ensure Gibraltar's compliance with the principles of the European Convention on Human Rights, and its convergence with lesbian and gay equality in other leading European states, the three most obvious and urgent homosexual law reforms are as follows: 1. Equalisation of the age of consent at 16 for both heterosexual and homosexual relations, and the abolition of all other discriminatory sexual offences laws, such as "buggery" and "gross indecency". 2. A ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation, covering employment, housing and the provision of goods and services - possibly as part of a comprehensive equal rights law that would also prohibit discrimination based on race, sex, faith or belief, disability, political opinion, language, age, genetic inheritance and medical condition (such as HIV). 3. Legal recognition and rights for same-sex partners. This could be achieved in two ways. First, through new cohabitation legislation to extend to all common law relationships (both homosexual and heterosexual) the same rights that are enjoyed by married couples. Second, through the legislation of registered partnership procedures (pioneered by France) which allow unmarried same-sex and opposite-sex couples to register their relationship at their local Town Hall and to receive all the rights and responsibilities that go with marriage. These partnership rights should include: a. The right to be recognised in law as next-of-kin b. The right to death benefits c. The right to widower/widow pensions d. The right to government housing e. The right to visit one's partner in hospital or prison f. The right to inheritance of property on the death of a partner g. The right to employee's spousal benefits such as private health-care cover h. The right to compassionate leave in the event of a partner's sickness/death i. The right of non-EU nationals to reside with their Gibraltarian partners Whilst most EU member states are in the process of considering and/or introducing the above reforms, Gibraltar seems to be doing nothing. I urge you to use your influence to ensure that the Government of Gibraltar respects the rights of all its citizens by introducing legislative and policy changes to end discrimination against lesbians and gay men. They deserve fair and equal treatment on a par with heterosexual citizens. Anything less would fall short of Gibraltar's commitment to universal human rights.
Yours faithfully,
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