UKH

With regards this:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/16/british-soldiers-sacked-for-b...

I had no idea this sort of thing was so recent.  Reading the story about the guy being imprisoned, including solitary, for having a copy of Gay Times amongst his effects, I assumed it be the 50s or 60s not 1993.

There have been a few programmes recently on channel 4 about gay rights and the aids epidemic. Lots of things have come as a surprise to me in terms of how recent many rights were.

Yes, I was shocked to learn how recent this was.

I was a teenager discovering I was gay in the 90s. I was very much aware that I wasn't allowed in the military, couldn't get married, could be murdered and the culprit acquitted if they claimed I'd come on to them, that schools couldn't "promote homosexuality" etc etc. 

Discharging them is bad enough, but taking medals away seems particularly cruel. They must have met the criteria for being awarded them at the time, so taking them away is just plain vindictive. 

I'm not that surprised tbh. The 80s and 90s are now a long way away in time terms. I mean, you wake up and think "cool, it's the 21st century" but then realise it's been that way for over 20 years. A lot has changed in the last quarter century and if you think back to the AIDS epidemic, how that was perceived as being intimately linked to homosexuality, and the sorts of attitudes that fostered in the 80s and 90s, it's in no way surprising that the military aped typical societal attitudes at the time. It's good to see it being put to rights now though (in fact, I think it's well past time it was put to rights but better late than never).

I think you'll find that the military, along with any well established organisation (i.e. Church), tends to be more like a generation (20 years ?) behind typical societal attitudes of any particular time.

The decrease in homophobia is one of the really good things that have happened in my lifetime. 

I suspect it was only the LSGC medal that was taken away? Not that that was excusable, but that there was at least some logic. As a serving soldier in the 80's and 90's I can attest to the fact that being openly gay in the armed forces was not an option - except if you joinded the RAF - where it was obligatory