Pride is protest.. let's use it to end shame of past

New Bill aims to clear names of men criminalised over sex

- By AENGUS O SNODAIGH

Pride is a time for protest, for calling out the injustices that LGBT+ people continue to face every day of their lives, and for demanding change for the better.

The job falls to politicians like myself to act on those demands and put forward the legislation needed to deliver change.

One injustice that remains to be addressed is the continued suffering of those who were convicted for consensual sex between men before it was decriminalised in 1993. That was after the Irish Government was dragged kicking and screaming into doing so by the European Court of Human Rights in a famous case taken by then-Senator David Norris.

It will come as a shock to many that those who were convicted under the criminalisation regime remain with a criminal record to this day, which can negatively impact their efforts to lead a normal life still.

The dark days of criminalisation are rarely discussed in the modern era of marriage equality, and it can be hard to imagine the climate of fear which existed for gay men in the era of criminalisation.