OutRage! "Amnesty Campaign"
OutRage!,
December 12, 2002
Dear Colleagues and Friends
Please lend your voice to the
OutRage! campaign to have gay & bisexual men unjustly convicted by
discriminatory antigay laws removed from the Sex Offenders Register when the
government scraps these laws early next year.
We are asking you to do three
things.
Firstly, send us a postcard
declaring your support for this campaign. The more mail we receive, the easier
it will be to get the government and the media to take this issue seriously.
Secondly, please write to your MP
and urge them to bring up the issue of those gay and bisexual men who may have
to remain on the Sex Offenders Register after the unjust and discriminatory
antigay laws of buggery, gross indecency and soliciting have been scrapped.
We can’t supply a “form
letter” because these have proven to be ineffective—officials routinely
ignore them. It is far better if the letter is written in a personal way.
Please point out that it is
unreasonable that men who committed an offence with no victim and with the
consent of the other party should have to remain on a register with rapists,
child-sex offenders and other criminals who are perceived as a danger to the
community.
Also point out that it is
illogical to keep them listed as their offences are no longer crimes and that
it will make the Sex Offenders Register far less effective in combating
serious sex crimes if it lists people who are not a threat to the community
and who had been convicted by unjust (and defunct) laws.
Stress that being listed on the
Sex Offenders Register can ruin their lives and leave them open to vigilante
attack.
Appeal to common sense and
fairness. If possible, tell of any personal experience you might have had or
of any cases you might have heard of.
Remember that a personal,
levelheaded letter achieves more than an angry or abusive one. Give your MP
the benefit of the doubt and assume that they will be sympathetic to the
problem once they see how reasonable it is. The most important thing we can
achieve as a first step is that as many MPs as possible are asked to think
about the issue by as many people as possible.
Thirdly, and finally, talk about
the issue. Discuss it in any community groups or discussion groups you may
belong to, with friends, and through the pages of the local press or radio
phone-ins. Let’s get the word out there!
MORE INFORMATION:
Please vistit the OutRage!
website: http://www.outrage.org.uk
for more information, or call on 0208-24-00-222 or email info@outrage.nabumedia.com.
Postcards supporting the campaign should be mailed to:
OutRage! “Amnesty Campaign”, P.O. Box 17816, London. SW14 8WT
Our press release on the issue
can be read at:
http://outrage.nabumedia.com/pressrelease.asp?ID=172
ENDS
[Home] [World]
[United Kingdom]
