This is the British state of things. Transexuals also. Rule Brittania!
SURVEILLANCE OF SERVICE PERSONNEL
8. Military Police had routinely spent a disproportionate amount of time, money and effort on undercover surveillance operations purely to establish that a Service Person might be homosexual. On 9 May 1996, Nicholas Soames MP, the Minister of State for the Armed Forces, agreed in the House of Commons that it would "not be sensible, economic or efficient use of resources to identify those who were homosexual and wish to keep it to themselves". This change of policy accurately reflected the feelings of Service Police Investigators who admitted that they would "sooner be employed combating genuine crime such as theft or drug abuse". Sadly Service Authorities had failed to act upon the Minister's directive and undercover operations continued. Where cases came to light, Ministers were invited to explain why the Armed Forces were not following their wishes.
THE RIGHT OF CONSULTATION ON ISSUES OF HOMOSEXUALITY
9. As a direct result of the profile achieved by Rank Outsiders and the professional manner in which Rank Outsiders had sought to conduct itself, The Minister of State for the Armed Forces, Nicholas Soames MP, directed in 1996 that the MoD was to consult with Rank Outsiders on all issues related to the treatment of homosexuality by the Armed Forces. Although not always a willing party to this directive, the MoD had nevertheless started to work with Rank Outsiders to resolve the many and varied issues involved.
SERVICE RECOGNITION OF HOMOSEXUALS
10. Although the Armed Forces have been extremely reluctant to even admit that there were homosexuals serving, arguing that because homosexuals were banned there weren?t any, this had not been the case with related Service Organisations. During 1996, the Soldiers, Sailors and Air Force Association started working openly with Rank Outsiders to support ex-Service Personnel in need, and other organisations such as the Royal Naval Association were beginning to follow suit. Most significantly, in November 1996, Rank Outsiders were invited to the Royal British Legion to join the Remembrance Day Parade and lay a wreath at the Cenotaph in London. These links were leaving the Armed Forces themselves increasingly isolated in their attitude towards homosexuals.
THE EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE
11. On 19 February 1997, Terry Perkins, a former Naval Medical Assistant brought a case against the MoD in the High Court claiming the Ban on homosexuals breached the European Equal Treatment Directive and urged the High Court to refer the case to the European Court of Justice for a ruling. On 13 March 1997, Mr Justice Lightman agreed to refer the case and noted that the prospects of the European Court upholding Mr Perkins' case were significant. In 1995, the MoD had argued that the directive related solely on gender and they had a good chance of winning a case, although if they lost compensation would be substantial. Since then, the European Court of Justice has interpreted the Equal Treatment Directive to apply more broadly than just gender and it had been extended to protect the right of transsexuals. It seemed almost inconceivable that the directive should not also be found to apply to homosexuals and a ruling was expected in late 1998.
Bookmarks