Stonewall secures new act to erase archaic anti-gay convictions

Gay and bisexual men with previous malicious convictions for consensual gay sex can apply to have their convictions removed from their criminal record, thanks to a new law which has received Royal Assent.
 
The act allows gay and bisexual men to have malicious convictions of 'loitering with intent' under Section 4 of the Vagrancy Act 1824 removed from their records.
 
Stonewall campaigned for amendments to the Protection of Freedoms Act, and received support from across Parliament after giving evidence to the Public Bill Committee back in March 2011. Stonewall also lobbied the Home Secretary to increase the act to allow the removal of further malicious convictions.
 
Stonewall Chief Executive Ben Summerskill said: "Victorian morality has absolutely no place in 21st century Britain. We know of many gay men with homophobic convictions on their records who have been dissuaded from looking for work or volunteering their time to good causes. They will be delighted by this important new law, which will help many men look forward to a brighter future. We hope the new measures will now be implemented as quickly as possible."