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BRISH SOLDIERS SACKED FOR BEG GAY N GET THEIR MEDALS BACK
Defense Force Management: DOD's Policy on Homosexualy.
Pursuant to a ngrsnal requt, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) policy of excludg homosexuals om servg the armed forc. Thoands of Brish ary personnel who were dismissed on grounds of homosexualy will be able to have their service medals rtored if they had been taken away when they were kicked out of the armed rights mpaigners weled the move as the “first step on a journey” but said that issu such as endurg crimal rerds, lost pensn rights and still blemished service rerds now need to be alt wh by the Mistry of law, gay men and lbian women were banned om servg the Brish ary until 2000. Those found guilty of beg homosexual sometim went on to a serve a prison term, typilly several months Mercer, the veterans mister, said the announcement “addrs a historic jtice”.
Photograph: Yui Mok/PAThe last serviceman to be sent to prison for beg homosexual was David Bonney, who was found guilty at a urt martial Cornwall 1993. Bonney had joed the RAF aged 17 1987 and said he had “learned and accepted I was gay” when he served durg the first Gulf said he was subject to a two-year vtigatn after a py of Gay Tim had been found his room. That clud, he said, “buggg my room, havg people follow me, placg officers outsi the lol gay bars to spy on people gog , g the lol police statns to take my iends to, to terview them and altogether create terror and fear among my iends and associat” urt martial sentenced him to six months prison, of which he served four cludg one month of solary nfement, and left him wh a crimal rerd – although followg an appeal his discharge was changed to honourable.