News
2005-08-25
Hong Kong judge
rules against sodomy laws
A Hong Kong judge
ruled Wednesday that laws against gay sex—including
one that demands a life sentence for men under 21 who
A Hong Kong judge
ruled Wednesday that laws against gay sex—including
one that demands a life sentence for men under 21 who
engage in sodomy—are unconstitutional and discriminatory.
High court judge Michael Hartmann made the
judgment after William Roy Leung, a 20-year-old gay
man, launched a legal challenge against what he
considered discriminatory antigay laws. Hartmann said the
laws "discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.
[They] are demeaning of gay men who are, through the
legislation, stereotyped as deviant."
Existing laws prohibit "gross indecency," or
sexual intimacy, between men if one or both are under
21, while heterosexual and lesbian couples who are 16
or older may have sex legally. Men who engage in
consensual sodomy with another when either is under 21 face
life imprisonment.
Although a similar law also applies to
heterosexual sodomy, Hartmann said the law is
discriminatory toward gay men. He said in the case of
homosexual sodomy, both men are criminally liable, but in
the case of heterosexual sodomy only the man, not the
woman, is liable.
The judge ruled that the laws are inconsistent
with Hong Kong's mini-constitution, the Basic Law, and
the Bill of Rights, which provide that all Hong Kong
residents are equally protected by the law. He
determined that the laws are a "grave and arbitrary
interference with the right of gay men to
self-autonomy in the most intimate aspects of their
private lives."
Leung told reporters after the ruling, "The
difference is, I can finally have a loving
relationship without being scared of [being] thrown
into jail for life imprisonment. That would be what we've
been asking for."
Gay activist Roddy Shaw also welcomed the
ruling. He said police have arrested 65 men under gay
sex laws in the past five years and that 26 were
convicted. "It is a landmark case and a long-overdue
judgment. It's the first time that sexual orientation
has been upheld as a protected ground against
discrimination in a Hong Kong court," he said. The
ruling comes as debate over a proposed law prohibiting
antigay discrimination rages between gay and religious
groups in the former British colony. (AP)
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