Labouchere Amendment

Labouchere Amendment

The Labouchere Amendment to the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 in the United Kingdom was named after the Member of Parliament who introduced it to Parliament, Henry Labouchere. Added to the Act at the last minute, it was rushed through and passed in the early hours of August 7, 1885 [ [http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1885/aug/06/consideration#S3V0300P0-03958 Hansard report of the debate] ] , becoming Section 11 of the Act. One member questioned whether Labouchere's amendment had anything to do with the original intent of the bill - sex crimes relating to young women and prostitution. But the Speaker, Arthur Peel, responded that under procedural rules any amendment was permitted as long as Parliament permitted it. The former Attorney-General, Sir Henry James , while supporting the amendment, objected to the leniency of the sentence, and wanted to increase the penalty to two years' hard labour. Labouchere agreed, and the amendment was passed.

The section read: "Any male person who, in public or private, commits, or is a party to the commission of, or procures, or attempts to procure the commission by any male person of, any act of gross indecency shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and being convicted shall be liable at the discretion of the Court to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years, with or without hard labour."

As a result of the vagueness of the term "gross indecency," this law allowed juries, judges and lawyers to prosecute virtually any male homosexual behaviour. Compared to older sodomy laws that prescribed death or life imprisonment, the law was lenient, possibly due to the wide range of acts covered. Dubbed the "blackmailer's charter," it was famously invoked to convict Oscar Wilde in 1895. Wilde was given the most severe sentence possible under the act, which the judge described as "totally inadequate for a case such as this" [ [http://www.lexscripta.com/articles/wilde6.html Lex Scripta ] ] . The law was repealed in part by the Sexual Offences Act 1967 when homosexuality was decriminalized in England and Wales, with remaining provisions being deleted later.

ee also

*Sodomy law

External links

* [http://myweb.lsbu.ac.uk/stafflag/labouchere.html "The Knitting Circle"]

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Henry Labouchère — Henry Du Pré Labouchère (9 November 1831 – 15 January 1912) was a prominent English politician, writer, publisher and theatre owner in the Victorian era and Edwardian era. He married actress Henrietta Hodson.Life and careerLabouchère was born in… …   Wikipedia

  • Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 — The Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 (48 49 Vict. c.69), or An Act to make further provision for the Protection of Women and Girls, the suppression of brothels, and other purposes , was the latest in a 25 year series of legislation in the United… …   Wikipedia

  • Criminal Law Amendment Act (1885) — La Criminal Law Amendment Act (loi amendant la législation criminelle) de 1885 est l aboutissement d un long travail législatif au Royaume Uni à propos du droit de la sexualité. Cette loi releva l âge de consentement sexuel, s attaqua à la… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Cleveland Street scandal — The Cleveland Street scandal occurred in 1889, when a homosexual male brothel in Cleveland Street, Fitzrovia, London, was discovered by police. At the time, sexual acts between men were illegal in Britain, and the brothel s clients faced possible …   Wikipedia

  • Cleveland Street Scandal — Prinz Albert Victor, Herzog von Clarence 1889 wurde ein Bordell für Männer in der Cleveland Street in London von der Polizei entdeckt. Zu dieser Zeit waren sexuelle Handlungen zwischen Männern im Britannien gesetzlich verboten und wurden in… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Cleveland Street Skandal — Prinz Albert Victor, Herzog von Clarence 1889 wurde ein Bordell für Männer in der Cleveland Street in London von der Polizei entdeckt. Zu dieser Zeit waren sexuelle Handlungen zwischen Männern im Britannien gesetzlich verboten und wurden in… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Cleveland-Street-Skandal — Prinz Albert Victor, Herzog von Clarence Der Cleveland Street Skandal war ein gesellschaftlicher Skandal im victorianischen Großbritannien. Der Skandal förderte die Vorstellung, dass männliche Homosexualität ein in a …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Тьюринг, Алан — Алан Тьюринг Alan Mathison Turing …   Википедия

  • Sodomy law — A sodomy law is a law that defines certain sexual acts as sex crimes. The precise sexual acts meant by the term sodomy are rarely spelled out in the law, but is typically understood by courts to include any sexual act which does not lead to… …   Wikipedia

  • United Kingdom — a kingdom in NW Europe, consisting of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: formerly comprising Great Britain and Ireland 1801 1922. 58,610,182; 94,242 sq. mi. (244,100 sq. km). Cap.: London. Abbr.: U.K. Official name, United Kingdom of Great… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”