![\"letter_turing\"](\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.towleroad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/letter_turing.jpg?resize=740%2C468\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe UK Justice Ministry today announced that Turing\u2019s Law, named after British WWII codebreaker Alan Turing, has gone into effect and thousands of gay<\/a> men<\/a> convicted for gross indecency have been posthumously pardoned.<\/a><\/p>\n Those convicted under the law who are still living can also be pardoned via application\u00a0through the UK\u2019s Home Office.<\/p>\n Writes the Justice Ministry regarding the process for pardons for those still living:<\/p>\n \u201cThis will ensure that due diligence is carried out and prevent people from claiming to be cleared of offences that are still crimes \u2013 including sex<\/a> with a minor and non-consensual sexual activity.\u00a0For example, under the disregard process, the Home Office has rejected several applications where the activity was non-consensual and others where the other party was under 16-years-old. \u00a0An applicant is only eligible for a \u2018disregard\u2019 if the Secretary of State decides that it appears that the other person involved in the conduct which constituted the offence consented to it and was aged 16 or over at the time, and that the conduct would not now constitute the offence of sexual activity in a public lavatory. In other words, the Secretary of State must be satisfied that the conduct is no longer criminal.\u201d<\/p>\n Another bill which contained a blanket pardon failed in Parliament last October.<\/p>\n Wrote the BBC at the time<\/a>:<\/p>\n The government said it would not support SNP MP John Nicolson\u2019s Sexual Offences (Pardons) bill \u2013 which proposes a blanket pardon for the living \u2013 because it could potentially lead to some people being cleared of offences that are still crimes.<\/p>\n But, speaking to the BBC\u2019s Daily Politics, Mr Nicolson said that his priority was to set aside the criminal convictions of men<\/a> who were still living with them.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cIt\u2019s great to forgive all the people who are now dead, but it\u2019s kind of sentimental. I\u2019m more interested in forgiving the people who are still alive, and have lived with this for decades.\u201d<\/p>\n The post Thousands of Gay UK Men Convicted for Gross Indecency Have Today Been Officially Pardoned<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad<\/a>.<\/p>\n