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In his 1998 single "Sexx Laws," American alterna-rock singer Beck crooned, "I want to defy the logic of all sex laws." Well, apparently in England he might soon not have to. Home Secretary David Blunkett last week announced that the Home Office is to overhaul and abandon many of Britain's outdated sex laws, some from as recent as 1956, some leftovers from as far back as the famously repressive Victorian age.  Blunkett's reforms are part of a two-pronged approach to bringing the country into the new millennium —his stated intent being to abandon and reform laws that discriminate against gays and consensual acts, while at the same toughening up existing laws that apply to sex crimes against minors."We will legislate in the next session of parliament on sex offences and sex offenders," Blunkett said. "Sex offences in terms of the 19th century laws and definitions which have been consulted on in the last two years, and sex offenders in terms of updating our laws to take account of the most horrendous events that have been in the headlines in this country." "Much of it belongs to an age before the light bulb or the car, yet we now live in a world of global communications, with children two clicks away from internet porn sites generated by a multimillion-pound sex industry," he said.  One of the first archaic laws to go the way of the dodo will be the original 1885 Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, a little piece of legislation so ridiculously out-of-step with contemporary culture that it's almost beneath contempt. This law, which forbade consenting men from participating in buggery and cottaging (basically, the act of soliciting sex from another man, was once used to imprison Oscar Wilde).Critics of this dusty old law complained of its obsolescence and that by failing to repeal it, the British government was tacitly legitimizing homophobia and discrimination. Of course, these same critics lauded the Home Office's decision to revisit and abandon the policy. "Partial reform will not be sufficient, and it is right that the government wishes to take more time and get these outdated laws reformed properly," said Simon Hughes, the Liberal Democrats' Home Office spokesman. Blunkett's repeals are to go farther than just tossing out legislation enacted during a time when common men walked down the street in powdered wigs. The Home Office is concerned about Britain's abysmal nine percent conviction rate on rape cases, and is set to establish a new definition of "consent," as well as do away with "date rape" cases, which have up to this point been set apart from the more straightforward rape charge. "Our view is that rape is rape, and cannot be divided in this way into more and less serious offences," the Home Office stated.  Also, the Home Secretary plans to deal with what he considers to be a crisis in paedophilia by enacting some of the strictest legislation concerning sexual abuse of a minor that the world has ever seen. Under the new guidelines, some charges may even carry the possibility of a life sentence, especially where children are exploited for commercial gain.As part of this new strategy, Blunkett is proposing enacting legislation which states that there can be no consenting sex between an adult and a minor the age of 13, as had previously been the case. A legal loophole that lets adults escape more serious charges if they exploited the minor without touch or penetration will also be closed up. "We are balancing here the toughening of protection, particularly for children, while ensuring the law is fair and non-discriminatory and reflects the 21st rather than the 19th century view of social policy," said Blunkett. The Home Office's moves are likely to bring kudos from Britain's gay community, which has lived under the threat of these laws for more than 150 years, even if their enforcement had grown slack.
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