Homosexuality in the UK

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United Kingdom

Homosexuality is widely accepted by society in the UK . An anti-discrimination law has existed since 2003 , which also protects the rights of homosexuals. In addition, the possibility for homosexual couples to enter into marriage has existed since 2013 and previously since 2004 the possibility of entering into a same-sex civil partnership .

legality

In the UK, homosexual acts are not a criminal offense. Corresponding paragraphs were abolished in 1967 (England and Wales), 1981 (Scotland) and 1982 (Northern Ireland).

Anti-discrimination laws

In June 1987 Margaret Thatcher and her party, the Tories, won the 1987 British general election ; Thatcher's third term as Prime Minister began. Thatcher said at a convention of her party in 1987: Children who need to be taught to respect traditional moral values ​​are being taught that they have an inalienable right to be gay (" Children who have to be taught to respect traditional moral values ​​are taught that they have an inalienable right to be gay ”).

Backbenchers of the Tories and members of the House of Lords (peers) had previously started a campaign that criticized an alleged "promotion of homosexuality". In December 1987 the controversial Clause 28 (= Section 28 ) was added as an amendment to what later became the Local Government Act 1988 .

In 1997 there was a change of government; Tony Blair of the Labor -party became prime minister. In 2000, the government could not enforce to completely abolish Clause 28 . However, this was achieved in 2003, which means that discrimination in the workplace is now prohibited.

A court in Northern Ireland ruled in 2015 that existing law does not allow pastry chefs to prevent a same-sex couple from making a wedding cake. Ernie and Bert from “Sesame Street”, whose coexistence is sometimes associated with homosexuality, should also be featured on this cake. The couple who run the company refused this order on the grounds that the production of such a cake would violate their own Christian beliefs. The clients turned angrily to the Equal Opportunities Commission of Northern Ireland, which reached the court ruling in favor of the same-sex couple. The Attorney General has appealed the ruling.

Recognition of same-sex civil partnerships

The Civil Partnership Act 2004 was passed on November 18, 2004, and since December 5, 2005 same-sex couples can enter into a state-recognized partnership (= Civil Union ) nationwide . Homosexual couples in the UK have all the rights and obligations of marriage and are able to adopt children.

The first civil partnership under the Civil Partnership Act 2004 took place on December 5, 2005 between Matthew Roche and Christopher Cramp at St. Barnabas Hospice, Worthing, West Sussex. Registered partnerships are also allowed on the Isle of Man and, since October 2009, Jersey .

marriage

In September 2011, UK Gender Equality Secretary Lynne Featherstone announced that marriage would open in the UK within the next four years. In March 2012, Lynne Featherstone presented the draft law to open marriage to the public, which was adopted in the House of Commons on February 5, 2013 and passed the third reading in the House of Commons on May 21, 2013.

In July 2013, it was decided to open marriage to same-sex couples in England and Wales from March 29, 2014 . In July 2013, a draft law on the opening of marriage was tabled in the Scottish Parliament , which was adopted in December 2013 at first reading and on 4 February at second reading. The law has been in force since autumn 2014. Same-sex marriage was allowed on the Channel Island of Guernsey in December 2015 . However, the marriage opening does not apply to Northern Ireland; Activists in this part of the country are urgently fighting for alignment. Same-sex marriage has been allowed on the Isle of Man and Gibraltar since 2016 . In March 2017, marriage was opened in parliament for same-sex couples in the Falkland Islands . In May 2017, marriage was opened for same-sex couples by court ruling on the island of Bermuda . On February 1, 2018, marriage was opened for same-sex couples in parliament on the Channel Island of Jersey . On January 13, 2020, the opening of marriage in Northern Ireland went into effect.

Church weddings of same-sex couples were allowed among Quakers in the Methodist Church of Great Britain , the Scottish Episcopal Church , the Church of Scotland and the United Reformed Church .

Social situation

Europride London 2006

A Eurobarometer survey from December 2006 found that 46 percent of Britons agree to open marriage to same-sex partners, while 33 percent have no objection to the possibility of same-sex couples adopting children. This roughly corresponds to the EU-wide standard values ​​of 44 and 33 percent respectively.

historical development

In the 1950s, homosexuality was punished as a moral offense. There were repeated trials and convictions that caused a stir among the population.

The 1953/54 case of the son of a lawyer Michael Pitt-Rivers and the journalist Peter Wildeblood became widely known as the "Montagu case", which was also covered in newspapers such as the Daily Mirror and the New Statesman . A month after the two were sentenced, the interior minister agreed to convene a committee to review the legal situation. In August 1954, for example, a departmental committee of 15 women and men was convened to “examine the law and its implementation in relation to homosexual offenses and the treatment of those convicted by them”.

The report ( Report of the Departmental Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution ), better known as the Wolfenden Report , was published on September 3, 1957 and suggested that "homosexual behavior between two consenting adults is no longer persecuted in private should ". He also stated that "homosexuality cannot legitimately be regarded as an illness, since in many cases it is the only symptom and in all other contexts it is compatible with perfect mental health". The Archbishop of Canterbury , Geoffrey Fisher , welcomed the report on the grounds that lawmakers should not interfere with people's privacy.

In 1958, the Ministry of the Interior initiated further investigations which, among other things, justified the emergence of "avoidable" homosexuality with the "poor quality of normal relationships between men and women". On May 12, 1958, the Homosexual Law Reform Society was founded, which called for the implementation of the proposed points of the Wolfenden Report.

In the 1960s, proposals to decriminalize homosexuality were repeatedly brought into parliament by individual politicians, but could not be enforced. After nearly 10 years of massive campaigning, the Sexual Offenses Act was amended by Parliament in 1967 to implement some of the demands of the Wolfing Committee. From then on, homosexuality between men over 21 (a higher age of consent than for heterosexual acts) was no longer punishable, but not in public spaces, hotels or when a third person was present in the same house but in a different room. Nor did the law apply to Northern Ireland and Scotland, where homosexuality remained a criminal offense. Campaigns like the Campaign for Homosexual Equality and the Gay Liberation Front therefore continued to call for total equality.

In the late 1970s, homosexuality was to be decriminalized in Scotland, just like in England and Wales , but this did not happen until 1980. As early as 1979, a working group at the Home Office recommended lowering the age of consent for homosexual acts to 18 years.

The 1980s brought both an expansion of gay rights and restrictions. The ban on homosexuality was lifted in Northern Ireland in 1982. In 1988, a law came into force in England known as the Signum Clause 28 . It stated that local authorities should not intentionally endorse homosexuality (including material containing homosexuality). In addition, homosexual partnerships in school were not allowed to be presented as equal partnerships compared to heterosexual partnerships and families.

In the 1990s, the attempt to bring the age of consent for same-sex sex to 16 failed, but it was subsequently lowered to 18. Only at the urging of the European Court of Human Rights was this inequality dealt with in Parliament, but repeatedly rejected in 1998 and 1999 by the House of Lords . Opponents of the change in the law simply argued that they wanted to protect children. Janet Young, Baroness Young said, "Homosexual practices pose a great health risk to young people". In 2000, the amendment drawn up by Parliament was rejected for the third time by the House of Lords, but was then enforced with the approval of the Queen.

As part of the Spanner Case , several members of the leather scene were convicted in several legal proceedings in the 1990s for engaging in consensual sadomasochistic practices in Great Britain . The proceedings resulted in a landmark judgment by the European Court of Human Rights. Two of those arrested committed suicide and several lost their jobs. In eight cases, prison terms of up to four and a half years were pronounced.

The gay movement had its greatest successes in the 2000s. In 2001, the age of consent for same-sex sex was brought into line with that for heterosexual sex and lowered to 16 years. Again and again there were numerous protests against Clause 28 , in which the singer Boy George with the title No Clause 28 also took part. It was then abolished in 2003, along with the outdated sex criminal law. A commission for equality and human rights has been set up. Adoption has also been made possible for same-sex couples in Scotland, England and Wales. In 2003 an anti-discrimination law was also introduced. At the beginning of 2007, the previous scope of protection in labor law was extended to include civil law. On September 18, 2004, the Civil Partnership Act was passed, giving homosexual couples the same rights as in marriage. Critics criticize the fact that this right is implemented too late and the extra name given to homosexual marriage, which can be assessed as a kind of sexual apartheid .

In October 2016, the UK Parliament debated a bill to rehabilitate all those previously convicted of homosexuality who are still alive today. Parliament did not accept this draft law.

See also

Web links

Commons : Homosexuality in the United Kingdom  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See the Wikipedia article Local Government Act 1988 .
  2. ^ NI gay cake bakery appeal adjourned. Retrieved October 3, 2016 .
  3. ↑ BBC News: Dying man has same-sex 'wedding' , Dec. 6, 2005
  4. ↑ Pinknews: Jersey votes to allow civil partnerships , October 20, 2009
  5. ↑ Schwulissimo: United Kingdom wants to open marriage
  6. ↑ Queer: Cameron, Gay Marriage is a Conservative Demand , October 6, 2011
  7. ↑ Queer: Great Britain before the opening of marriage , March 16, 2012
  8. ↑ queer.de: British parliament clears first hurdle for opening marriage
  9. ↑ tagesschau.de: British House of Commons votes for gay marriage ( Memento from February 8, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  10. ↑ queer.de:British House of Commons finally votes for marriage opening
  11. ↑ Vote in the House of Commons: British Parliament allows gay marriage , Spiegel online , July 17, 2013
  12. ^ BBC: Gay marriage to be introduced in Scotland
  13. ↑ queer.de:Scotland clears the way for marriage opening
  14. ↑ queer.de: Scotland: opening of marriage sealed
  15. ↑ GuernseyExpress: Guernsey will introduce same-sex marriage
  16. ^ NI gay cake bakery appeal adjourned. Retrieved October 3, 2016 .
  17. ^ IOM Today: From Friday same-sex couples will be able to get married in the Isle of Man . 19th July 2016
  18. ↑ Chronicle: Gibraltar celebrates first same sex marriage
  19. ↑ Queer.de: Falkland Islands open marriage
  20. ↑ Queer.de: Bermuda: Court opens marriage for gay couples
  21. ↑ Gaystarnews.com: Same-sex marriage finally legalized on island of Jersey
  22. ↑ BBC: Same-sex marriage now legal in Northern Ireland , January 13, 2020
  23. ↑ Advocate.com: Uk Denomination votes down same-sex weddings
  24. ↑ ChurchTimes: Methodists move towards conducting same-sex marriages , July 4, 2019
  25. ↑ BBC: Scottish Episcopal Church approves gay marriage , June 8, 2017
  26. ↑ Gaystarnews.com Church of Scotland will draft new same-sex marriage laws
  27. ↑ BBC: United Reformed Church approves gay marriage services
  28. ↑ Eurobarometer survey ( Memento of June 17, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  29. ↑ cf. Anne-Marie Cusac: Profile of a sex radical - lesbian, sadomasochist author Pat Califia . In: The Progressive. October 1996, online at: Profile of a sex radical. ( Memento from July 8, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
  30. ↑ Pinkpaper ( Memento of the original from May 18, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.pinkpaper.com
  31. ^ 'Turing Bill' for gay pardons fails in Parliament. BBC, October 21, 2016, accessed October 21, 2016 .