Gays the Milary | Public Death, Private Life: Army Major Alan Rogers and the Washgton Post

Contents:

• RISHI SUNAK APOLOGIS TO LGBT VETERANS FOR PAST ARMED FORC GAY BAN
• I'M A GAY ARMY OFFICER—QUEER TROOPS MT FIGHT BACK
• HISTORY OF GAYS THE MILARY--PICTURES
• GAYS THE MILARY

RISHI SUNAK APOLOGIS TO LGBT VETERANS FOR PAST ARMED FORC GAY BAN

Right there, prted black and whe the Uniform Co of Milary Jtice,, I gus along wh the Mar wholeheartedly welg s gay jarheads, some progrs marks n be award. When i was the Navy, we ed to say "25 no longer gay", was bad form to jack UCMJ is fuckg retard. 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.

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do my documentary last year.”Rpondg to Sunak at PMQs, Keir Starmer said he was proud that was a Labour ernment that had repealed the ban, and he weled the apology.Starmer said one of his nstuents, Ken Wright, a former RAF service member who was “forced to leave the job he loved simply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. Image source, Emma RileyImage ptn, Rad operator Emma Riley was discharged om the Navy for beg a lbian the 1990sRishi Sunak has apologised for the historil treatment of LGBT veterans who were sacked or forced out of the ary for beg PM lled the ban an "appallg failure" of the Brish was illegal to be gay the Brish ary until 2000 - wh thoands of veterans thought to be affected.

I'M A GAY ARMY OFFICER—QUEER TROOPS MT FIGHT BACK

Addrsg MPs, the prime mister said: "Many endured the most horrific sexual abe and vlence, homophobic bullyg and harassment all while bravely servg this untry.

"The LGBT Veterans Inpennt Review, led by Bra's first openly gay judge Lord Etherton, began last year and heard about the experienc of 1, 145 veterans between 1967 to 2000. Homosexualy was crimalised the UK 1967 but a ban ntued the armed forc.

HISTORY OF GAYS THE MILARY--PICTURES

Acrdg to the report, the Mistry of Defence said at the time that jtifitn for the policy clud "matenance of operatnal effectivens and efficiency" - but the report said there had been an "prehensible policy of homophobic bigotry" the armed forc. It heard shockg acunts of homophobia, bullyg, blackmail, sexual asslts, "disgraceful" medil examatns, and nversn mak 49 remendatns to the ernment cludg:Affected veterans to be given an "appropriate fancial reward" pped at £50m overallThe rtoratn of medals that had to be hand back on dismissal or dischargeThe clarifitn of pensn rights The prentatn of a special veterans' badgeThe ernment said would rpond full after summer of the veterans affected watched the PM's public of them, Emma Riley, 51, was a Royal Navy rad operator for three years before she was arrted and discharged for beg a lbian after tellg a lleague her sexualy the early told BBC News she weled the report, and hoped would be put to place "swiftly.

Carol Man, who was dismissed after tellg her boss she was gay 1978, kept her sexualy secret for another 30 years and said she had been "robbed" of her life. "Olympian Dame Kelly Holm, who served the army and me out as gay last year, lled the publitn of the report a "historic moment", while Cathere Dixon, a former army officer who is now vice chair at Stonewall, said was "an important step towards jtice" for those whose ary reers were "ed" bee of their sexualy.

GAYS THE MILARY

Many still have a crimal rerd to this also tails how some veterans faced a plete loss of e, while others were emed eligible to claim their pensn bee of their report more than 20 years after four servicemen and women, who were sacked for beg gay, won a se the European Court of Human Rights and overturned the armed forc chary Royal Brish Legn lled on the ernment to accept the report's remendatns chary's director general Charl Byrne weled both the report and Mr Sunak's "landmark apology", sayg many people who had dited their liv to the untry were "forced or felt prsured to leave the armed forc, and this mistreatment stroyed or shortened their reer". It was illegal to be gay the UK ary until 2000 and Rishi Sunak has said sorry to those who were sacked or forced out.

“Durg this time, many have suffered the most horrific sexual abe and vlence, homophobic harassment, while urageoly servg this untry, ” he ntued. "Today, on behalf of the Brish state, I apologise, " Rishi Sunak a change the law 2000, lbian, gay, bisexual or transgenr people were not allowed to serve the Brish army.