Lgbt Veterans Memorial

[naomi24]

//The UK's first memorial for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender armed-forces personnel is to be built at the National Memorial Arboretum.

The government has put £350,000 towards the project, which was one of 49 recommendations of an independent review, external into the historical treatment of people who were sacked or forced out of the military for being gay.

It was illegal to be gay in the British military until 2000.//

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ck7l3kmnnmjo

 

A worthy idea or not?  It was certainly a sorry reason to be kicked out of the forces.  

[vulcan42]

Surely the names of those who died for their country, straight or otherwise, are already on memorials, are they not? 

[sp1814]

Excellent idea - so many brave men and women who had their lives destroyed by bigotry.

A marvellous idea.

Props to whoever thought of it.

[Canary42]

I don't see the point. If they were sacked then they didn't die for their country, if they weren't sacked but were killed then they will already be covered by existing memorials.  Why pick out any sub-group for an extra memorial ?

[jno]

if animals can get a war memorial...

[naomi24]

They don't differentiate - just as memorials to our fighting forces  don't differentiate.

[sp1814]

Yeah jno - I was thinking that last night. Horses and dogs get war memorials.

My money is this is younger people acknowleging the debt that LGBT folk paid with their lives, whilst living in a society which would happily jail them.

Sometimes you have to give credit to Gen Y and Gen Z. They may have horrible taste in music but their hearts are in exactly the right place.

[jno]

I suspect you're right, sp: in years to come Zoomers are going to be utterly astounded when they're told that, even when they were kids, it was still illegal to "promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality". It's like telling them they were born in the Middle Ages.