History and Law Reform
Homosexual intercourse became illegal in New Zealand when the country became part of the British Empire in 1840 and adopted British law making homosexual sex punishable by death. Capital punishment was never carried out in New Zealand for any reason than murder or one case of treason, and was abolished in 1961. In 1893 the law was broadened to outlaw any sexual activity between men. Penalties included life imprisonment, hard labour and flogging. Sex between women has never been legally prohibited in New Zealand.
Attempts to change the law included a petition presented to Parliament by the Dorian Society (the first New Zealand organisation for homosexual men) in 1968, and steps taken by National Member of Parliament, Venn Young, in 1974.
In 1986, the Crimes Act was changed with the passing of the Homosexual Law Reform Act, removing the offence of consensual sex between males over the age of sixteen. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation was outlawed several years later in amendments to the Human Rights Act.
Read more about this topic: LGBT Rights In New Zealand
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