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23 May 2007

gay service members a non-issue: british defense report

The decision to allow openly gay soldiers to serve in the British military has not provoked the massive discord or animosity that opponents predicted would occur.

According to a report in the The New York Times quoting several unidentified British Ministry of Defense officials, the move to allow openly gay soldiers to serve in the military since 2000 has been a non-issue.

In 2000, the British government was forced by the European court of human rights to withdraw its ban on homosexuality in the military. In July 2006, members of the Royal Navy (shown in the image above) marched in the EuroPride parade along Oxford Street in London. Image source: www.proud2serve.net
A Defense Ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity reportedly in "accordance with the ministry's practice," said, "What we're hoping to do is to, over a period of time, reinforce the message that people who are gay, lesbian and the like are welcomed in the armed forces and we don't discriminate against them in any way."

Acknowledging the sensitivity of the issue in the United States where gay and lesbian service members are discharged, the British official said: "We're not looking to have quotes taken out of context in a way to imply that we're trying to influence the debate in the United States. There are some sensitivities over the timing of this. We have had communications from our counterparts in the United States, and they have asked us questions about how we've handled it and how it's gone on the ground. There does seem to be some debate going on over how long the current policy will be sustainable."

The US military has lost almost 10,000 gays and lesbians under its "don't ask, don't tell" policy which was introduced in 1993 by then US President Bill Clinton. The debate about the policy was rekindled in March when Gen. Peter Pace, who as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the country's top-ranking military official was quoted as saying in the media that he believed that homosexuality was immoral.

In 2005 - five years after the ban on gay service members in the general armed forces was lifted, the Royal Navy entered into a partnership with gay advocacy group Stonewall and actively sought gay recruits by advertising in the pink media. The same year, the Army set up a recruitment stall at the Gay Pride festival in Manchester for the first time and was represented by 10 gay and lesbian soldiers in combat trousers and T-shirts marching alongside a Royal Air Force float on the five-mile parade through the city.

United Kingdom

读者回应

1. 2007-05-23 20:35  
Wonderful reporting. I make it a point to read all of the postings, but every once in a while one strikes a deeper cord. This one is delicious in that in the end it is unremarkable.
2. 2007-05-23 22:01  
Very good news for gays. Europe has set a very good example for the so-called world superpower.
3. 2007-05-23 23:11  
its so hilarious,,,,,,im so afraid with rights of haters ,watchout
4. 2007-05-23 23:12  
im afraid racialist and bashers group attacking u
good luk


5. 2007-05-23 23:13  
this is imposible honest, it must be joking

6. 2007-05-24 00:15  
wow...this is socially cutting edge! england is so advance.
7. 2007-05-24 03:35  
It is only normal when gays can openly serve in an army. Here in the Netherlands we have had openly gay soldiers since the 1970's and it has become a non-topic. Sometimes it is hard to imagine how backward the US can be.
8. 2007-05-24 06:09  
When I read something like that I really can't understand how n why a country like France has always been (n is) so retarded about gay rights...

We are just so hypocritical in this country,
What a shame.
9. 2007-05-24 10:04  
Hmmmm...all i can say is, the decision has brought back the 'Great" in Britain :D
10. 2007-05-24 10:42  
Personally, I'll be more happy and relieved, when news like this isn't news. If the so-called superpower (USA) doesn' t want or need our service, then fine. George Bush is killing-off the hetero-boys in Iraq...for the most part, the homos have been spared this carnage.
11. 2007-05-24 10:42  
duh!
12. 2007-05-24 10:44  
The Sacred Band of Thebes, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar. How much proof do they need?
13. 2007-05-24 11:02  
Hee Hee... If Singapore Armed Forces openly allowed gay men to sign on, I would sign on at a drop of the hat. But I guess too old to do that now.
14. 2007-05-24 23:40  
The British have never been as self-consciously righteous as the Americans, and wasn't it the great war leader Winston Churchill who summarised the glorious history of the Royal Navy as "Rum, bum and the lash" ? So, there's always been an implicit acceptance of humanity in all its guises in the Queen's loyal armed services.
15. 2007-05-25 01:26  
u can serve here openly, just do it after you signed on the doted line that's all. so long you did not declare during your medical, you will not be downgraded and then you can serve. anyway, commanders in singapore don't really care and our stay-in camps are not like those in overseas, far from civilisation.
16. 2007-05-25 10:34  
I think we can earn more from not being a soldier. it is fine, we need to earn more pink dollars and let the hetero to fight the war while we taxpayers finance it...hehe

do u know ..single ppls get the highest tax! Since we cannot get marry or anything in most part of the world, we r heavily taxed ppls! kenasai!
17. 2007-05-26 04:33  
I won't commit myself on gay-friendliness of a profession whose aim is to kill other human beings.

Come on! Can't we find other jobs?

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