EDITORIAL

Progress can seldom be expected to come in sudden leaps. For the homophile, Kinsey was a landmark. And Cory. The birth of the Mattachine and ONE. The American Law Institute recommendations, and most recently, the Wolfenden Report. But in the long run, it is unlikely that freedom will be handed the homophile on a silver platter. Freedom is seldom given, but must be earned.

England's Tory government, which has met most issues with timidity, will not follow the Wolfenden Committee's bold lead and introduce a bill to relax the anti-homosexual laws. In a December4th debate in the House of Lords, the Archbishop of Canterbury, supported by peers of all parties, pleaded for a change in the law, but Lord Chancellor Viscount Kilmuir, speaking for the government, said, "There can be no prospect for early legislation on this subject." He pleaded adverse public opinion (which according to the press reports has actually leaned toward the Wolfenden recommendations) and suggested "further study," a favorite dodge of cowards.

Yet this is not the end of the matter. Never in the modern history of Western society has this subject been discussd so widely, sanely and openly. We hoped the law would change now and for the better. We can still hope the change will come in time. A "Private Member's Bill" without government sponsorship, might be introduced in Parliament and may have some chance of passage. Or hopes may be pinned on the Socialists who look to gain power at the next election.

But even if the law does not change in the near future, the impact made by the trials and debates of 1953-54, by the moral force of England's Churches, by the boldness of much of the press, and by the forthright voices of many community leaders and a few avowed homophiles such as Peter Wildeblood will not be forgotten. Several British papers said, and rightly, that even if the Report is buried, even if the law remains on the books, the condition of homosexuals in England can never again be what it once was. Lord Kilmuir notwithstanding, the majority of the British public has displayed its sympathy with the social and legal predicament of homosexuals. The law, even though it remains for now, is less likely to be enforced, and wherever it is enforced, there will be renewed pressure for its amendment. This is a notable victory, though it is not all we could have hoped for. (Even the Report had its shortcomings).

Echoes of Wolfenden will continue and spread. On December 27th speaking to the American Association for Advancement of Science, Dr. Canio Zarilli of the New York Institute for Criminology urged a uniform sex code for the several states, following Wolfenden recommendations. Others will make similar proposals. In the long run, we will find Wolfenden's work to have as much significance for this country as for England.

Our task lies ahead. The homophile must stand up fearlessly and demand his place in society. We are asking society to end the oppression. We must demand of ourselves an end to fear and groveling. Lyn Pedersen, Associate Editor

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