Cook Islands Lift Ban on Gay Sex
The Cook Islands, a nation in the South Pacific with political links to New Zealand, has decided to lift a ban on gay sex. Its self-governing parliament voted last Friday (April 14) to remove the law that banned “indecent acts between males,” threatening those breaking the law with up to 10 years in jail. The law has never been enforced.
“The role of any government is to protect its people and their rights. We are the government of all our people and not just the government of some people,” said Mark Brown, Prime Minister of Cook Islands, according to The Gay Times. “We have freedom to love who we want to; we have freedom to be who we want to be. We all should have the right to live our lives free from discrimination.
The new bill will officially become law on June 1, 2023, removing the clause from the 1969 Crimes Act. Pride Cook Islands has been a strong proponent to change the law. In an Instagram post after the historic vote, Te Tiare advocate Teokotai Paitai said, “May this change ripple throughout the great ocean of our ancestors and beyond – our advocacy is based on love, as has been demonstrated by other great leaders throughout history.”
A draft of the bill was introduced in 2017 with much opposition, but in 2019, pro-LGBTQ+ groups pointed out that the bill didn’t decriminalize gay sex as it was intended to do.
Pride Cook Island President Karla Eggelton spoke with the New Zealand publication RNZ and expressed her excitement about the historic vote to change the law. “We are so grateful for all the people and all the organizations throughout our community who have been working tirelessly to make this happened,” said Eggelton.
Although parliament’s vote decriminalized homosexuality, gay marriage is still banned under the Marriage Amendment Act of 2000. Currently, 66 countries around the world criminalize private, consensual same-sex activity, 11 of which use the death penalty as punishment.
