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Homosexual Law Reform Society

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TheHomosexual Law Reform Societywas an organisation that campaigned in theUnited Kingdomfor changes to the set of laws which criminalisedhomosexualityat the time.

History

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In 1954, theConservativegovernment set up a Departmental Committee to look into aspects of British sex laws. The resulting report, theWolfenden Report,was published on 3 September 1957.

On 5 March 1958, the academicA.E. (Tony) Dysonwrote a letter toThe Times,published on the 7th, calling for reform of the law by the implementation of the Wolfenden Committee's recommendations. The letter was signed by many distinguished people including Clement Attlee, A. J. Ayer, Isaiah Berlin, Trevor Huddleston, Julian Huxley, J. B. Priestley, Bertrand Russell, Donald Soper, Angus Wilsonand Barbara Wootton.[1]

The correspondence that this letter generated helped bring together supporters of the Wolfenden Report, and this led to the Homosexual Law Reform Society being founded on 12 May 1958 with members includingVictor Gollancz,Stephen Spender,andKenneth YoungerMP.[2]Most of the founders were not homosexual.

Advertisements inviting people who supported the Wolfenden Report to contact the Homosexual Law Reform Society resulted in Tony Dyson being joined byAntony Grey,businessmanNigel Bryantand architect Duncan Wright.

In May 1958, the related charity, theAlbany Trust,was set up.

In October 1958, the Albany Trust opened an office, and the HLRS was able to use these facilities for its campaigning work.

The pamphletHomosexuals and the Lawwas sent to MPs in preparation for their first debate on the Wolfenden Report. The first parliamentary debate was initiated on 4 December 1957 byFrank Pakenham(Baron Pakenham, later known as Lord Longford); however, it had become clear that the government had shelved the report and was not planning to implement any reform. TheLord Chancellor,Viscount Kilmuir,had said, "I am not going down in history as the man who made sodomy legal."[3]

On 12 May 1960, over 1,000 people attended the first HLRS public meeting inCaxton Hallin central London.[4]

In 1962,Antony Greybecame acting secretary of the HLRS. In the spring of 1963, this became a full appointment. Some people questioned the appropriateness of this appointment since Grey was a homosexual who was living with another man; there was concern that he might be subject to the same type of police attention that the organisation was campaigning against.

In 1963, the HLRS expanded to become a nationwide campaign, forming the North-Western Homosexual Law Reform Committee (NWHLRC) in Manchester under the leadership ofAllan Horsfall.The North-Western Committee was the most radical and proactive of the HLRS’ groups, targeting trade unions and industrial workplaces and raising awareness of theWolfenden Report.The NWC eventually formed the Committee, then formed theCampaign for Homosexual Equality.

The HLRS was most active during the campaign which led to the passing of theSexual Offences Act 1967.For example, they provided advice and support to theDorian SocietyofNew Zealand;however, many (in particular theCampaign for Homosexual Equalityand theGay Liberation Front) considered that the new law did not go far enough and blamed the HLRS for what they saw as a weakening of the Wolfenden Committee's proposals, calling the HLRS/Albany Trust "a conformist outfit ofUncle Toms".[citation needed]

In March 1970, the HLRS became theSexual Law Reform Society(SLRS) in order to campaign for further legal changes, particularly relating to the age of consent. In 1974, it produced a report for the Criminal Law Revision Committee on lowering the age of consent to 14, with the requirement that below the age of 18 theburden of proofthat consent for sexual activities between the parties existed would be the responsibility of the older participant.[5]

Professor A. J. Ayerwas President of the HLRS for a time; he remarked that "as a notorious heterosexual I could never be accused of feathering my own nest."

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Homosexual Acts, Call To Reform Law".The Times.7 March 1958. p. 11.
  2. ^Twitchell, Neville (2012).The Politics of the Rope: The Campaign to Abolish Capital Punishment in Britain, 1955-1969.Arena books. p. 311.ISBN9781906791988.Retrieved4 June2018.
  3. ^"No Early Vice Law Change: 'Further Study Of Report Needed', Lord Chancellor's Statement".The Times.5 December 1957. p. 10.The house was held utterly absorbed by the Primate's 'haunting examples' of men who, once caught, were held by an 'octopus of corruption'.
  4. ^"Homosexual Law Reform Society Pamphlet".UK Parliament.4 July 2024.Retrieved10 July2024.
  5. ^Waites, Matthew (2005, op.cit., p.132).

Further reading

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