<strong>Letter: </strong>I was saved by accs to LGBTQ+ lerature the anti-gay hostile environment of Thatcher’s Bra, says <strong>Vcent Fney</strong>
Contents:
- GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT
- A TIMELE OF GAY RIGHTS THE UK
- STONEWALL RTS: 50 YEARS ON OM THE RTS THAT CHANGED GAY RIGHTS HISTORY
- LAVENR MENACE, WT & WIL AND OTHER 80S GAY LERATURE SUPPLIERS WERE LIFAVERS
- GAY RIGHTS
GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT
Gay rights movement, civil rights movement that advot equal rights for LGBTQ persons—that is, for lbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenr persons, and queer persons—and lls for an end to discrimatn agast LGBTQ persons employment, cred, hog, public acmodatns, and other areas of life. * britain gay rights *
In the Early Morn and Medieval perd, the church and eccliastil urts termed the approach to homosexualy, seeg as at odds wh Christian valu of heterosexual marriage and procreatn.
The 1970s saw a shift polil nscns towards pri and equal rights; the UK was the of the first Gay Pri para, the openg of Gay’s the Word bookshop, and the lnch of Swchboard, one of the first LGBTQ+ helpl. The 2000s saw the age of nsent lowered to the same age for homosexual and heterosexual acts, the UK Government lifted the ban on lbians, gay and bisexual people servg the Armed Forc and Sectn 28 was repealed. Patrick Nelson is a rare historil example of a Black gay man whose life is well documented, both through ary rerds and ship logs ntaed our llectn, and through the love letters sent between him and Dunn Grant ntaed the Tate archiv.
A TIMELE OF GAY RIGHTS THE UK
Fifty years ago a rt New York, US changed the urse of history for gay rights around the world. * britain gay rights *
It’s also important to pot out that this piece of legislatn me after many years of the AIDS crisis durg which homosexualy was creasgly stigmatised and associated wh disease.
STONEWALL RTS: 50 YEARS ON OM THE RTS THAT CHANGED GAY RIGHTS HISTORY
The move has sparked a row between gay rights mpaigners, a tra pany and a rail unn * britain gay rights *
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.
LAVENR MENACE, WT & WIL AND OTHER 80S GAY LERATURE SUPPLIERS WERE LIFAVERS
Of the 72 untri that still crimalise gay sex today, at least 38 of them were once subject to Brish lonialism. * britain gay rights *
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".
GAY RIGHTS
* britain gay rights *
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.