Magnificent UK gay journalist Johann Hari has published his reminiscences about Section 28 of the UK Local Government Bill 1988. It’s now over two decades since the iniquitous Thatcher era homophobic legislation was passed, only to be overturned in 2003 after the Blair administration reversed the policies of the Tory dark ages.

Clause 28 marked the Thatcher administration’s exploitation of Britain’s absence of entrenched constitutional safeguards for human rights, civil liberties and social equality. At the time that it was passed, the Christian Right had exploited populist antagonisms against the Greater London Council and other local authorities that were providing social services for LGBTs, and inclusive educational materials, like the children’s book, Jenny Lives With Eric and Martin. Bear in mind that at this stage, the Sexual Offences Act 1967 still applied, with a grossly discriminatory gay age of consent (21), compared to sixteen. Hari damns Thatcher era social conservative extremism for engineering widespread gay adolescent ignorance about safe sex twenty years later, with consequences for HIV/AIDs and STI prevention.

Across the Tasman, Australia has its own analogous entrenched discriminatory burden to overcome, namely its federal same-sex marriage ban, passed during the Howard era. It also prevents the Australian Capital Territory from passing civil unions legislation, given Kevin Rudd’s preference for Scandinavian-style registered partnerships. Granted, Rudd should also be given credit for addressing outstanding issues of LGBT spousal equality, and I suspect he’s trying hard not to laugh at the disunity that’s caused within the post-Howard Liberal Opposition. At the same time, though, the survival of the federal same-sex marriage ban is undeniably Australia’s own Clause 28. Like Clause 28, it denies full equality to LGBT Australians- which is why that legislation must not be allowed to survive, either.

Recommended:

Johann Hari: “Section 28: Twenty Years On”: Attitude: June 2008: http://www.johannhari.com