by Rex Wockner
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
The United Kingdom is preparing legislation to expunge the "crimes" of adult men who were prosecuted for having consensual sex with adult men in earlier eras.
The slate will be wiped clean for men whose partners were at least 16 years old.
At present, such "crimes" must be disclosed when applying for certain jobs or volunteer positions.
England and Wales decriminalized gay sex in 1967 for people over age 21, lowered the age to 18 in 1994 and lowered it to 16, the age that applies to heterosexual sex, in 2000.
Scotland and Northern Ireland decriminalized gay sex in the early 1980s. The subsequent age reductions applied to all four UK political entities.
