Emotion as Parliament apologises to men convicted for homosexuality
Justice Minister Amy Adams reads Government's apology for historic homosexual convictions in Parliament today. Photo / Mark Mitchell
An apology from Parliament to men convicted for homosexuality more than 30 years ago has passed unanimously after some passionate speeches in Parliament.
Moved by Justice Minister Amy Adams, the apology was to homosexual men convicted for consensual sex "and recognises the tremendous hurt and suffering those men and their families have gone through, and the continued effects the convictions have had on them." After she read it, there was a waiata in the public gallery.
In a powerful speech in response to the apology, Labour MP Grant Robertson said the law against homosexual acts had not just impacted on men's careers - it had driven some to suicide.
"Let us be clear, the illegality of homosexuality, the arrests and imprisonments and fear of that happening did not just ruin lives and destroy potential. It killed people.
"Hundreds, possibly thousands, of lives have been lost because of the shame, the stigma and the hurt caused by this Parliament and the way society viewed them as criminals.
"It is for all of that that we must apologise."
The apology coincides with a law change to allow men with convictions to apply for a pardon or for families to apply on their behalf. The first reading of that bill was also passed unanimously.
Robertson urged the families of those convicted men who had since died to seek a pardon on their behalf.
"It is important you take the opportunity afforded by this legislation to give dignity in death to your relatives that this Parliament did not allow them in life."
And he paid tribute to the bravery and courage of all homosexual men who lived through the times before the crime of homosexual acts was removed, and campaigned for change - including those who signed a letter in the NZ Herald in 1986, putting their name to the cause and public scrutiny, putting at risk their lives and careers.
"I respect you, I honour you and I stand on your shoulders today."
He said he and his partner Alf would soon mark 20 years of being together and 10 years of a civil union - "all things that would have been unimaginable to you, but yet which are your legacy."
NZ Herald