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notyoueither asked about these in the Birmingham 6 thread. I thought they deserved a thread of their own, just to give an example of what happens to civil liberties in a climate of moral intolerance.
Operation Spanner kicked off at the end of the 1980's, when Thatcherite values were at their height. Put simply- anyone differing from the property-owning, employed middle-class norm was considered suspicious. Unionists received their kicking early on. They were quickly followed by travellers and gypsies, labelled as "worse than medieval brigands" in Parliament simply because they pursued a non-conformist lifestyle, and brutalised at the Battle of the Beanfield. Gay rights activists then were hit by Section 28, placing legal restrictions of "promotion of a homosexual lifestyle".
So who was next? How about weirdos and perverts?
"Mr Sebastian" (real name Alan Oversby) was a tattooist and piercer. Body piercing is considered nothing special these days, but back in the 1980's it was a different matter. I first saw a pierced tongue in 1987 and I was genuinely amazed by it. In the mid 1980's only a few adherants of the performance art scene and S&M scene were into genital piercing, though it was just starting to cross over into the more adventurous areas of the gay community. Mr Sebastian was one of the piercing pioneers, and like any professional he kept records.
One day he was raided by the police, who took his records, and started raiding the names listed in it. Unsurprisingly, some were S&M fans who had been unwary enough to film themselves in acts of sadism/masochism. Charges were eventually brought against 16 men, including Mr Sebastian. They were portrayed as being members of a secret society of perverts, despite the fact that most of them had never met each other.
As far as the defence was concerned, the case was a joke. Everyone involved in the S&M acts had been a consenting adult, and no participant had received any lasting injury, or anything requiring medical attention. Bruises, abrasions and some mild cuts were the order of the day. However their defence was rejected by Judge Rant, on the grounds that nobody can consent to an assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Jail sentences were handed out, up to 4 years. The case went to appeal, where sentences were reduced but Lord Lane extended to ruling on consent to mean that any form of bodily harm inflicted in a sexual context is a criminal offence. No lovebites, no fingernail scratches, no spanking.
Of course, good and healthy pursuits were specifically exempted. One can maim or kill others on the Rugby pitch or Boxing ring and face no charges. A parent can beat a child with no fear. However if an assault forms part of an act of love, it's a crime. That goes for piercing too- if it's for purely decorative purposes, it's OK, but if there are any sexual connotations (both from the act of piercing itself, or use of the jewellery afterwards) then both the piercer and piercee are criminals.
3 men served jail terms. Mr Sebastian received a 15 month suspended sentance purely for carrying out his profession as a piercer. Most of the men lost their jobs, had their lives turned upside down, due to acts between consenting adults that caused no lasting harm.
Operation Spanner kicked off at the end of the 1980's, when Thatcherite values were at their height. Put simply- anyone differing from the property-owning, employed middle-class norm was considered suspicious. Unionists received their kicking early on. They were quickly followed by travellers and gypsies, labelled as "worse than medieval brigands" in Parliament simply because they pursued a non-conformist lifestyle, and brutalised at the Battle of the Beanfield. Gay rights activists then were hit by Section 28, placing legal restrictions of "promotion of a homosexual lifestyle".
So who was next? How about weirdos and perverts?
"Mr Sebastian" (real name Alan Oversby) was a tattooist and piercer. Body piercing is considered nothing special these days, but back in the 1980's it was a different matter. I first saw a pierced tongue in 1987 and I was genuinely amazed by it. In the mid 1980's only a few adherants of the performance art scene and S&M scene were into genital piercing, though it was just starting to cross over into the more adventurous areas of the gay community. Mr Sebastian was one of the piercing pioneers, and like any professional he kept records.
One day he was raided by the police, who took his records, and started raiding the names listed in it. Unsurprisingly, some were S&M fans who had been unwary enough to film themselves in acts of sadism/masochism. Charges were eventually brought against 16 men, including Mr Sebastian. They were portrayed as being members of a secret society of perverts, despite the fact that most of them had never met each other.
As far as the defence was concerned, the case was a joke. Everyone involved in the S&M acts had been a consenting adult, and no participant had received any lasting injury, or anything requiring medical attention. Bruises, abrasions and some mild cuts were the order of the day. However their defence was rejected by Judge Rant, on the grounds that nobody can consent to an assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Jail sentences were handed out, up to 4 years. The case went to appeal, where sentences were reduced but Lord Lane extended to ruling on consent to mean that any form of bodily harm inflicted in a sexual context is a criminal offence. No lovebites, no fingernail scratches, no spanking.
Of course, good and healthy pursuits were specifically exempted. One can maim or kill others on the Rugby pitch or Boxing ring and face no charges. A parent can beat a child with no fear. However if an assault forms part of an act of love, it's a crime. That goes for piercing too- if it's for purely decorative purposes, it's OK, but if there are any sexual connotations (both from the act of piercing itself, or use of the jewellery afterwards) then both the piercer and piercee are criminals.
3 men served jail terms. Mr Sebastian received a 15 month suspended sentance purely for carrying out his profession as a piercer. Most of the men lost their jobs, had their lives turned upside down, due to acts between consenting adults that caused no lasting harm.
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