How 1967 changed gay life Bra: ‘I thk for my generatn, we’re still a ltle b uneasy’ | LGBTQ+ rights | The Guardian

Contents:

• GAY RIGHTS 50 YEARS ON: 10 WAYS WHICH THE UK HAS CHANGED
• A TIMELE OF GAY RIGHTS THE UK
• LONDON PRI PARA: HISTORY OF GAY RIGHTS THE UK
• HOW 1967 CHANGED GAY LIFE BRA: ‘I THK FOR MY GENERATN, WE’RE STILL A LTLE B UNEASY’

GAY RIGHTS 50 YEARS ON: 10 WAYS WHICH THE UK HAS CHANGED

Approval fell the 1980s when the Aids crisis and the troductn of sectn 28 - a law prohibg the promotn or teachg of homosexualy schools - uld have swayed public opn acrdg to NatCen, the thk tank which ns the a steady and rapid rise om the early 1990s reflects a wir trend of social liberalisatn, somethg also seen changg attus to pre-maral sex. Approval of pre-maral sex grew ially among the young - as they got olr they retaed that belief, and soon both old and young were more liberal on the same-sex relatnships the shift attu has been quicker - not only did young people wh liberal views get olr, but olr people changed their mds, might part be bee chang the law, such as the legalisatn of civil partnerships and then gay marriage, have a powerful fluence on people's views, a NatCen spokman suggts. 1967 - Sex between two men over 21 and " private" is crimalised1980 - Decrimalisatn Stland1982 - Decrimalisatn Northern Ireland1994 - The age of nsent for two male partners is lowered to 182000 - The ban on gay and bisexual people servg the armed forc is lifted; the age of nsent is equalised for same- and oppose-sex partners at 162002 - Same-sex upl are given equal rights when to adoptn2003 - Gross cency is removed as an offence2004 - A law allowg civil partnerships is passed2007 - Discrimatn on the basis of sexual orientatn is banned2010 - Genr reassignment is add as a protected characteristic equaly legislatn2014 - Gay marriage be legal England, Wal and Stland3.

Government has attempted to redrs this legacyGiven this legacy of crimalisatn, the ernment troduced a scheme October 2012 allowg those prosecuted unr funct gay-sex-related laws, to have their nvictns removed om police and urt Home Office timat that there were about 50, 000 such offenc rerd on the system om the 1950s until of the 50, 000, only an timated 16, 000 are for people who are still livg and so able to all of the 16, 000 offenc are eligible to be "disregard". Rerdg of homophobic hate crim has risenA steep rise homophobic hate crim has been rerd over the past five years, but this is thought to be large part down to an crease people reportg cints rather than a genue rise crime. The Natnal Police Chiefs Council's lead on homophobic crim, Assistant Chief Constable Mark Haton, says: "Tradnally, homophobic hate crime has been signifintly unr-reported and we do not believe that current statistics accurately reflect actual levels of abe.

A TIMELE OF GAY RIGHTS THE UK

It's strikg that people aged 16-24 are more than five tim more likely than those aged over 65 to intify as gay, lbian or Office for Natnal Statistics keeps rerds of people who intify themselv as gay, lbian or bisexual - 1. This is likely to unrtimate the real numbers as the survey don't pture sexual attractn or 2005 the ernment tried to timate the size of the lbian, gay and bisexual populatn and me up wh a larger number - 5-7% of the populatn. Gay people say they feel ls happy than their straight peersPeople who intify as gay, lbian and bisexual report lower levels of well-beg than heterosexuals the ONS looks at happs, life satisfactn, and the extent to which people feel their life is worthwhile.

Gay and lbian people report higher levels of anxiety than straight people, but bisexual people are even more likely to suffer om the lbian, gay and bisexual people are also more likely to suffer om suicidal thoughts than their straight iends, acrdg to a 2014 survey by LGBT support chary Metro. Same-sex upl have gaed equal marriage rightsCivil partnerships were legalised 2004 throughout the Uned Kgdom, wh the first ceremoni takg place at the end of the followg 140, 000 people entered to civil partnerships between 2005 and 2015, the last year for which figur are the UK, gay and lbian upl were granted many of the same rights as married heterosexuals, albe wh a few differenc around issu like private-sector meant that upl uld no longer be kept out of hospal rooms when their partner was sick, they would no longer lose their home or bs bee of tax laws, and they had parental rights over marriage was legalised a later, wh the first ceremoni takg place England, Wal and Stland 2014.

Countri where gay marriage is legal2010 Iceland, Portugal, Argenta2013 Uguay, New Zealand, France, Brazil2014 UK (excludg Northern Ireland)2015 Luxembourg, Ireland, Mexi, USAA further 28 untri guarantee some civil-partnership regnn acrdg to ILGA. The act, which crimalised homosexual sex acts between nsentg men over the age of 21, opened the door to a slew of legal and social chang which would transform the way Brish society viewed same-sex relatnships over the next 50 are some of the key dat the history of gay rights the UK:1533: The Buggery Act, the first ever law to specifilly outlaw anal sex, was signed to English law.

LONDON PRI PARA: HISTORY OF GAY RIGHTS THE UK

1957: The Wolfenn mtee published s report, based on three years of ttimony om police, psychiatrists and gay men but one of the mtee's 15 members, drawn om the world of polics, law, medice and amia, agreed that homosexual acts between nsentg men over the age of legal majory - 21 at the time - should not be a matter for the law. 1988: Then-Prime Mister Margaret Thatcher troduced an amendment to the Lol Government Act 1988 banng state schools om teachg or promotg the "acceptabily of homosexualy as a pretend fay relatnship" notor "Sectn 28" ed wispread outrage and as the talyst for a massive surge gay activism, cludg the formatn of LGBT rights group Stonewall UK. It remend a formal apology and pensatn of up to £50m.“As today’s report mak clear, that perd many endured the most horrific sexual abe and vlence, homophobic bullyg and harassment, all while bravely servg this untry,” Sunak told MP.“Today, on behalf of the Brish state, I apologise.

HOW 1967 CHANGED GAY LIFE BRA: ‘I THK FOR MY GENERATN, WE’RE STILL A LTLE B UNEASY’

Many of those targeted had faced “somethg of a wch-hunt”, he said, cludg havg their nfinc broken, abe and beg forced to take tts wh no medil basis.Promisg the ernment would implement the “vast majory” of Etherton’s remendatns, Wallace said he would fully update the Commons a formal bate about the issue after the summer.Asked about pensatn, Wallace said he hoped to fd “an elegant solutn that match the need and the requirements of those dividuals”, promisg to set this out after recs.Dame Kelly Holm, who served the army and me out as gay last year, was among mpaigners who weled the apology. “It means a huge amount to be here today and to hear and be part of this wh some other veterans that are all part of the review,” the Olympic athlete said.“From a personal pot of view, the ban affected me terms of who I was and what I uldn’t be for 34 years, leadg me to do my documentary last year.”Rpondg to Sunak at PMQs, Keir Starmer said he was proud that was a Labour ernment that had repealed the ban, and he weled the apology.Starmer said one of his nstuents, Ken Wright, a former RAF service member who was “forced to leave the job he loved simply bee he was gay”, was the public gallery to hear the apology.Etherton’s report said: “I remend that the prime mister should liver an apology the UK parliament on behalf of the natn to all those LGBT service personnel who served unr and suffered om the ban (whether or not they were dismissed or discharged).”It remend that an “appropriate fancial award” should be ma to veterans affected by the ban, wh a maximum total of £50m, and said the plan should not be affected by normal ligatn time lims.