Excuse me interrupting the liberal left's collective nervous breakdown to mention something progressive that has happened that will promote equality in the real world. The age of consent for gay men in Northern Ireland is to be made the same as for heterosexuals at 16. Prof Philip Cowley and his colleagues at the Revolts website recorded the vote in the House of Commons last night.
Four Conservative MPs joined three DUP MPs plus UKIP's Bob Spink in opposing the draft Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland Consequential Amendments) Order 2008, which will have the effect of reducing the age of consent for homosexual sex in the Province from 17 to 16. Ann and Nicholas Winterton voted against the order alongside two of the 2005 intake of Tory MPs - Peter Bone and Philip Hollobone. The Conservative frontbench line was to abstain, and the motion was therefore carried overwhelmingly by 279 votes to six.
Not only was this change unreported in today's national newspapers, the proposal to make it has barely been reported, even in the Northern Irish press. The last mention in the national press I could find was The Observer last November. But I mark this a significant gain in the plus column of Labour achievements.
I'm sorry, but this is not a great achievement. Do you have children? I may be very wrong but your jubilation at this suggests that you do not. I do: three boys, and at sixteen they were still very much children, no matter how they wished it was otherwise. The thing is that older women rarely prey on male teenagers... the reduction in the age of homosexual consent allows older men to prey on teenaged boys who may be confused about their sexuality. The age of consent, in real life, mostly applies to heterosexual teenagers of similar age exploring their 'different bits'. I didn't think the lowering was desirable and I assume (perhaps wrongly) that anyone who thinks it is desirable anywhere is, himself, homosexual.
Posted by: daisychain | Thursday, 05 June 2008 at 01:49 AM
The Conservative line was to abstain? What happened to liberal, progressive, modern David Cameron? Same old Tories...
Posted by: Will | Thursday, 05 June 2008 at 12:53 PM