25th Anniversary of the Lifting of the LGBT Ban in the Armed Forces

On 12 January 2000, the UK government announced that it would lift the ban on gay people serving in the Armed Forces.  

It followed a lengthy legal battle and a case heard before the European Court of Human Rights. While gay men and women had served in many conflicts, being gay in the British military was illegal and could have resulted in instant dismissal or a possible jail term.  

Gay service members were often stripped of medals and many were dismissed from the military solely on the grounds of their sexuality. 

The Imperial War Museum North will celebrate the anniversary of the lifting of the ban on gay service members.

In collaboration with Fighting with Pride, hear the personal stories of two LGBT+ veterans impacted by the ban, and learn about the long-lasting impact it had on their lives and how they campaigned to have it lifted. 

This is a free event in the Liebeskind Learning Space, but with limited availability, on Sunday 12 January 2025 from 11.00am to 12.00pm and from 2.00pm to 3.00pm.

Please reserve your tickets at the information desk on the day. 

Pentagon settles with US LGBT+ veterans discharged under discriminatory policies

The United States Defence Department has reached a settlement with veterans who were discharged under discriminatory policies like “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” potentially allowing more than 30,000 to receive benefits.

Pending approval by a federal judge, the settlement agreement will update discharge papers for US LGBT+ veterans who were separated from the military, removing references to their sexual orientation, while allowing those who were denied honourable discharges the right to seek an immediate review.

The agreement stems from federal civil rights litigation, Farrell v. Department of Defence, filed in August 2023 by a group of LGBT+ veterans.

“Coming from a family with a long history of military service, I was beyond proud to enlist in 1985 to contribute to my country,” said Sherrill Farrell, a US Navy veteran who was the lead plaintiff in the case.

“When I was discharged because of my sexual orientation, I felt that my country was telling me that my service was not valuable – that I was ‘less than’ because of who I loved,” she said. “Today, I am once again proud to have served my country by standing up for veterans like myself, and ensuring our honour is recognised.”

The lawsuit came as the Pentagon under the Biden-Harris administration worked to streamline the process by which veterans harmed by “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” – and anti-LGBT+ discriminatory policies that came before – can seek redress.

Last summer, President Joe Biden issued pardons to thousands of service members convicted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice’s former Article 125, which criminalised sodomy, and was rewritten in 2013 to proscribe only forcible acts.

New Union

The New Union is located on the corner of Princess Street and Canal Street in Manchester, adjacent to the Rochdale Canal.

The Union Hotel was built in 1865 and the name refers to the union of countries in the Commonwealth at that time. 

The building’s stained glass windows depict those countries including Canada, New Zealand, Australia, India and New Foundland.

It has been a gay venue for as long as anyone can remember and in 1965, the landlord was briefly sent to prison for “outraging public decency” for running a public house of ill repute.

The name was changed to the New Union in the 1970s and the pub was extended in the mid 1990s to cater for the increasing number of visitors to the Gay Village.

Roger’s story

Roger was referred by his GP to the LGBTQ+ group, Silver Pride, in Didcot, South Oxfordshire. He told about his life and experience:

“I told my parents I was LGBT back in the late 80s. Because they were of a certain generation, they didn’t really accept it. So, after a while it wasn’t really spoken about. I’m not going to criticise them; they were very good parents. it’s just a shame that they didn’t really accept me as me.

I feel sort of like people say, ‘oh, you’ve come out’ and you do come out, but you have to keep doing that because you keep on meeting new people, you see. But it’s a very private thing – you don’t have to come out. People don’t say, oh hello, I’m straight or heterosexual or whatever do they?

I was a member of a very, very conservative church in Swindon, which I left in 2019. I was 21 when I joined. Because I was only young, I thought if I joined the church, it’d stop me being gay. Obviously, that’s not the case! And I left because of how they treated gay and trans people – very, very sad.

I moved back to Wantage and joined my local church and although they don’t do same-sex marriages, they have changed a lot. I have told my vicar and she seems quite positive.

About a year ago I visited my GP and said that I was LGBT and they told me about a Social Prescriber at the surgery who could help me find other people to chat to. I think it was Mandy who wrote to me back then and I’ve been going along to the Silver Pride group since February 2024.

I like going along to the group; they’re very friendly. It’s Kate and Gaynor and they make you feel so welcome, you can relax and don’t have to hide anything. They’re just very nice people. There’s a man who goes with his sister and it’s nice seeing her supporting him to go along, you know. So yeah, I quite enjoy going.

I went to Pride in Oxford in the summer. It was very good. I have to travel for anything LGBT because I’m in a small rural community; it is isolating at times. But I enjoy going to London – I’ve got a few friends there and there’s a higher percentage of gay people in London than there would be around here.

I also go to Bible study at a local church and attend ‘Open Table’, an LGBT+ service at Reading Minister Church. I’ve always been a churchgoer. It’s always been a very, very big, big thing for me. Although a lot of LGBT people are not into church, because of how we’ve been treated over the years. There’s this one guy at Silver Pride, I think he was brought up Catholic but he’s anti-church. Almost all my socialising is church, church, church and this Silver Pride group is the only thing that isn’t church related.

I have a very quiet life. I like seeing to my garden. I go to the market and see my extended family and have a few trips to London or Oxford. I think I’m so privileged to live where I grew up and I enjoy life very, very much. I’m very, very blessed.”