Hong Kong's Gay Sex
Laws Are Ruled Illegal
By AP from the
NYTimes on the Web, August 24, 2005
HONG KONG -- 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 homosexual, launched a legal challenge against what he considered
discriminatory anti-gay 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 aged under 21, while heterosexual and lesbian couples who are 16
or older may do so lawfully.
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 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 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 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 discrimination toward
homosexuals rages between gay and religious groups in the former British colony.
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