how laws change over time

• how the homosexuality laws changed:

  • in Uk all homosexual acts between men were made a crime in 1885 with a maximum sentence of life in prison
  • however homosexual acts between men over the age of 21 was legalised in England and Wales in 1967
  • not until 2000 that the age of consent was equal with heterosexuals and 2014 until equal marriage was legal
• why homosexuality laws changed (2):

  1. human rights = in India the main reason for change was the decision of the supreme court that the state has no right to control citizens private lives
  2. politicians = 2010 equality act is an example where politicians can enact changes in the law. this act made it illegal to discriminate people against sexual orientation. this paved the way for civil partnership and equal marrige
• why homosexuality laws have changed (2):

  • CAMPAIGNS = the homosexual law reform society led the campaign to legalise homosexuality in 1967 and other pressure groups such as stonewall and others led to reducing the age of consent to 18 in 1994 and then 16 in early 2000
  • THE WOLFDEN REPORT = 1954, 1000 gay men were in prison. this involved high profile people. wolfden was asked to consider a reform of the law to legalise homosexual acts in private between consenting adults over 21. it took 10 years for the recommendation to be implemented
• drug laws case study Portugal:

  • from 1930-1975 Portugal was strictly regulated. you couldnt buy coca cola and had to have a licence for cigarette lighters
  • 2001 = possession of drugs was changed from a crime too a civil offence. quantity development as long as it was less than a 10 day supply
• why the drug law changed in portugal:

  • when portugal became a democracy the government control was eased
  • the number of people who used drugs increased dramatically.
  • in 1990 , 1 in 100 people were addicted to heroin with soaring rates of HIV infection from sharing needles
  • this led to drastic action to reduce the cost resulting from drug use.
  • law changed and perception of drug use being a criminal issue to now a health issue
• gun control shootings:

  1. Michael Ryan 1987 = unemployed antique dealer shot and killed 16 people in Hungerford , Berkshire
  2. 1996 = 16 children and 1 teacher were shot dead at Dunblane primary school
  3. 1997 = the law was tightened banning all handguns except 22 single shot weapons
  4. TONY BLAIR introduced a second fire-arms act banning remaining handguns
• why gun laws changed:

  1. gun control network = set up by lawyers , academies and parents of victims to campaign for stricter laws.
  2. snowdrop campaign = started by bereaved DUNBLANE PARENTS and friends, organised a petition and collected 750,000 signatures calling for a change in law
• laws concerning physical punishment:

  • capital punishment is hanging for serious crimes
  • corporal punishment such as the cane
  • the death penalty was abolished in the UK in 1965 although still used in some parts of the world
• reasons for change of law physical punishment:

  1. miscarriage of justice = death penalty is an irreversible action. therefore if new evidence is found or it was a mistake it would be too late to rectify. for example the case of Derek Bentley and the case of ruth Ellis.
  2. human rights = a universal basic list of human rights. these are drafted by representativeness with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all around the world. these were made in 1945. one of the human rights were a right to life. therefore capital punishment didn't seem appropriate.