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LGBT-HP: Created page with "'''Arthur Gore, 8th Earl of Arran''' (1910–1983), known as '''Lord Arran''', was a Conservative peer who played a pivotal role in the decriminalisation of male homosexuali..."

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Created page with "'''Arthur Gore, 8th Earl of Arran''' (1910–1983), known as '''Lord Arran''', was a Conservative peer who played a pivotal role in the decriminalisation of male homosexuali..."

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'''Arthur Gore, 8th Earl of Arran''' (1910–1983), known as '''Lord Arran''', was a
Conservative peer who played a pivotal role in the decriminalisation of male
homosexuality in England and Wales. He introduced the Sexual Offences Bill in the
House of Lords on multiple occasions between 1965 and 1967, ultimately helping to
secure the passage of the [[Sexual Offences Act 1967]].

==Role in the Sexual Offences Act 1967==
Despite homosexual law reform being a deeply taboo subject in Parliament, Lord Arran
took the courageous step of introducing a Sexual Offences Bill in the House of Lords
in December 1965, drawing on the recommendations of the Wolfenden Report of 1957. The
Bill passed the Lords on 28 October 1965 by 96 votes to 31, supported by the
Archbishop of Canterbury Michael Ramsey.

The Bill was subsequently introduced in the House of Commons by Conservative MP
[[Humphry Berkeley]], but its passage was interrupted by the dissolution of Parliament
for the 1966 general election, at which Berkeley lost his seat. Lord Arran reintroduced
the Bill in the House of Lords on 26 April 1966, where it passed on 16 June 1966.
Labour MP [[Leo Abse]] then took up the Bill in the Commons, steering it through to
Royal Assent on 27 July 1967.

==Lord Arran's statement after the Act==
Lord Arran's remarks on the passage of the Act are historically significant — and
revealing of the limitations of the era's attitude towards gay men even among
supporters of reform:

''"This is no occasion for jubilation; certainly not for celebration. I ask those
[homosexuals] to show their thanks by comporting themselves quietly and with dignity.
Any form of ostentatious behaviour, now or in the future, any form of public flaunting,
would be utterly distasteful and would, I believe, make the sponsors of the Bill regret
that they have done what they have done. Homosexuals must continue to remember that
while there may be nothing bad in being a homosexual, there is certainly nothing
good."'' <ref>Lord Arran, quoted in The Times, 28 July 1967.</ref>

The statement illustrates that even the Act's strongest supporters in Parliament did
not affirm the dignity or equality of gay men — only their right not to be imprisoned.
Full legal equality would take decades more to achieve.

==Later work==
In 1977 Lord Arran introduced the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill in the House of
Lords, which would have lowered the age of consent for homosexual acts from 21 to 18.
The Bill did not complete its passage.

==See also==
* [[Sexual Offences Act 1967]]
* [[Leo Abse]]
* [[Humphry Berkeley]]
* [[Labouchere Amendment]]
* [[Wolfenden Report]]

==References==
<references>

[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Legislation]]

Lord Arran - Revision history

LGBT-HP: Fix bare tag: MW 1.45.1 Cite requires self-closing

LGBT-HP: Created page with "'''Arthur Gore, 8th Earl of Arran''' (1910–1983), known as '''Lord Arran''', was a Conservative peer who played a pivotal role in the decriminalisation of male homosexuali..."