Regressive ruling

THE STATE has no business being in anyone’s bedroom. That is an uncontroversial position.

Or at least it should be.

In its regressive ruling of March 25 which re-criminalises anal sex between same-sex adults and resets the law to 1925, the Court of Appeal has effectively invited police to peep through the curtains.

The case, brought by the state against activist Jason Jones, was about gay rights.

But the implications of the court’s ruling are wider. Through the disapplication of fundamental human rights in favour of a colonial-era savings clause, all citizens have lost, not just Mr Jones.

By a majority 2-1 decision, the court set aside a previous ruling of the High Court which had struck down section 13 and section 16 of the Sexual Offences Act of 1986. It was, however, ordered that the 25-year sentence for anal sex be reduced to five years, in line with a 1925 law.