Conspiracy charges are to be brought against two homosexual magazines, Him Exclusive and Gay Circle, in an unprecedented move by the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The charges do not appear in any Act of Parliament. There have never been prosecutions on such charges before. The technical wording is "conspiracy to procure an act of buggery. It has been brought because the two magazines carry contact ads. It means that anyone who attempts to put lonely or isolated homosexuals in touch with each other can be sent to prison.
Since conspiracy charges can carry sentences or do to unlay years. unis action by the DPP puts the clock back on gay rights to before the liberalisation of the law in 1967. Indeed it could make matters worse, since with such vague charges it will now become possible for gay women to be prosecuted.
Justnow ine situanon coule be usec has been made clear in recent weeks - first with an attempt by the News of the World to whip up a witch-hunt campaign against gay organisations, and then oy ponce purges mn Leeds, bumungnam, and Earls Court in London. Clubs have been raided, and people have been simply lifted from the streets. Some of the vicums are in canger or losine men Ioos after publicity given to these cases.
Little Comfort But little comfort or help is likely to come rom me campaien tor nomo sexual Equality, Britain's largest gay organisation. Their conference in Sheffield on 23-24 August managed a ten minute discussion on the DPP's charges. The thousand delegates were informed that they should write to their MPs and then the discussion was closed. Practicaly ue wnole or une rest or the conrerence was given over to discussion of CHE's draft law reform bill - although as things stand it won't even get discussed, let alone passed - and to upping the subs.
ne enders orens seemed concerred only with preserving their own positions. After a twenty minute (!) debate on gay workers during which the conference declared its support for the Working Women's Charter and for the defence of victimised gay workers, the leadership nastily manoeuvrea ter way out of a vote on a proposal that would have committed them to financial and practical support for the gay trade union groups.
Though the reformist leaders of CHE were snaken up, mey managea to survive mainly because most of their critics concentrated on organisational matters. There was never a real attack on their politics. The left in the gay movement objectives if it is to defeat the reformists. In the meantime it is essential that the broad labour movement fights back against these latest moves in the represson or gay peopie