Cook Islands Votes to Decriminalize Gay Sex

The Cook Islands has decriminalized same-sex sexual relations.

On Friday, the country’s parliament passed a bill that amended the Crimes Act of 1969 which had criminalized same-sex sexual relations for men, according to a report in the Cook Islands News. The bill, known as the Crimes (Sexual Offenses) Amendment Bill 2023, effectively decriminalizes gay sex when it goes into effect on June 1, 2023.

“Today is an exceptionally good day to be the Prime Minister,” Prime Minister Mark Brown said in a speech to parliament announcing the passage of the bill.

Under the old law, men engaging in “indecent acts” with other men faced a five-year prison sentence while those hosting such acts could be jailed for up to 10 years. Women were not subject to the old law. The new bill invalidating that clause received bipartisan support prior to its passage.

“It is not the job of government to tell people what their sexuality is,” Brown said in his speech. “It is not the job of government to absolve sin. It is not the job of government to tell people how they can or cannot have sex. The government does not have a place in the bedrooms of our people.”

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Local advocates heralded the bill’s passage by Parliament.

“Ko Au, Ko Koe, Ko Tatou, we are United as one family, and one nation,” Val Wichman, president of the country’s first LGBTQ+ advocacy group Te Tiare Association told Cook Islands News.

“On behalf of Pride Cook Islands, we congratulate our Prime Minister and his government for doing the right thing,” Karla Eggelton, president of Pride Cook Islands, said after the vote. “Love is Love! Te Iti Tangata, hug the ones you love, and now you can tell them they belong. We are one.”

The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy operating in free association with New Zealand. It maintains full control over its internal laws and affairs, while New Zealand is responsible for its defense and foreign affairs. It is comprised of 15 islands in the South Pacific and is named after the British naval commander James Cook who visited the islands during the 1770s.

While same-sex sexual relations will no longer be against the law, the Cook Islands still does not recognize marriage equality. And the country only gained a score of 72 out of 100 on the Equality Index by Equaldex, which measures the legal and cultural environment for LGBTQ+ people living in or visiting a country.