Nicola Sturgeon is set to apologise on behalf of the Scottish government for historic convictions of gay and bisexual men, the BBC reports.
The First Minister will speak at Holyrood on November 7 to coincide with the introduction of legislation that will automatically pardon those who were convicted under discriminatory laws.
“The First Minister will give a statement of apology to those convicted prior to 2001 under discriminatory laws against same-sex sexual activity that is now legal,” a government spokesman says.
"The apology will be made on behalf of the Scottish government for the treatment of homosexual men under previous governments and will coincide with the introduction of legislation to provide people convicted under these laws an automatic pardon.
"The bill will right a historic wrong and give justice to those who found themselves unjustly criminalised simply because of who they loved."
The Equality Network—an LGBT+ rights organisation—said the apology was both symbolically and practically significant.
“The apology is important because it shows that it was the discriminatory laws that were wrong, and not the consensual relationships that were made criminal by those laws.
“We look forward to seeing the detail of the bill. If it implements the policy announced by the Scottish Government, it will be a hugely important statement that Scotland regrets the discrimination of the past, and now considers its LGBTI people to be fully equal citizens who deserve equal respect.
“It will also be of direct practical importance to people who currently have one of these convictions show up on criminal record checks for jobs or volunteer posts.”
Stonewall Scotland tweeted: “This is very welcome news. This will help many, once and for all, draw a line under a dark period in our history.”
Scotland follows countries including New Zealand, Germany and Britain that have also issued pardons for historic gay convictions this year.
