"While homosexuality was decriminalized in the United Kingdom in 1967, the military held a ban against LGBTQ+ personnel until the year 2000. During that time, LGBTQ+ people in the military, or those suspected of being LGBTQ+, were subject to intensive investigations filled with invasive questions about their private lives. The investigations often resulted in people being dismissed without pay or pension, and some even faced prison time."
"While the UK's military service ban was explicitly against homosexuality, it affected all members of the LGBTQ+ community. As noted in the Etherton Review, "The view adopted in the enforcement of the Ban was that, if a person was or declared themselves to be transgender or was experiencing gender dysphoria, they were either a gay man or a lesbian. For this reason, although the ban was concerned with homosexuality and therefore with sexual orientation, it also encompassed gender identity.""
King Charles III dedicated a memorial to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender military service members at the United Kingdom's National Memorial Arboretum. The memorial recognizes both current LGBTQ+ armed forces members and those who suffered under the military ban. Titled "An Opened Letter," it incorporates words taken from evidence used in investigations against servicemembers and closes with a call to "embrace our diversity & fight for our country." The site serves as a place of reflection, recognition and remembrance. Homosexuality was decriminalized in 1967, but the military ban remained until 2000, during which invasive investigations led to dismissals, loss of pay or pension, and sometimes prison. The ban also encompassed gender identity, affecting transgender people.
Read at LGBTQ Nation
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