Shame Is Enough

This is not a vote of confidence in, or congratulation for, homosexuality. Those who suffer from this disability carry a great weight of loneliness, guilt, shame and other difficulties. The crucial question we have to answer is whether, in addition to these other disadvantages, they should also be made subject to the full rigor of the criminal law.

With this statement to a weary House of Commons last week, Home Secretary Roy Jenkins came to the heart of the matter in the long argument over whether to reform Britain's archaic criminal statutes against homosexuality. Despite a flurry of last-minute amendments aimed at killing the reform bill, the M.P.s passed it by a 7-1 margin. For the first time since the era of Henry VIII, private homosexual acts between consenting males over 21 will not be subject to criminal prosecution.

Until the mid-19th century, sexual deviation involving man, woman or beast could be punished by death. The celebrated trial of Oscar Wilde took place under an 1885 law specifically decreeing that "indecent acts between males in public or private are a criminal offense." The old Draconian laws, however, did not fetch in many offenders: fewer than 100 homosexuals have been convicted annually in Britain in recent years, and the occasional publicized case has evoked more public sympathy for the defendant than support for the prosecution. In fact, the new bill really frees homosexuals from the fear of blackmail rather than from the threat of criminal indictment. The law will still prohibit solicitation, and it increases penalties for acts against minors. It prohibits homosexual brothels and pimping. The law brings Britain in line with most of Western Europe, where restrictions have been eased everywhere except in West Germany. In the U.S., only Illinois has a comparably liberal code.

The debate over the homosexual bill did not produce Commons' finest hour. When Tory Opponent Harold Gurden mused that a House of 600 members probably had some homosexuals in its midst and that they should declare their interest before voting, he was interrupted by a taunting cry from Labor Backbencher Andrew Faulds: "We don't know about you, do we? It might be interesting!" Replied Gurden: "If he is insinuating that I am one of the chosen few, perhaps he could tell us about it." The deputy speaker succeeded in restoring order and as the sun began rising over Westminster, the M.P.s ended their all-night debate and voted the bill.

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