- "Gay rights protesters in February 1976 ", 1976, PA Archives
Criminal Law Amendment Act
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Henry Labouchere, a Liberal member of Parliament, was a strong opponent of homosexuality, introducing Section 11 of the 1885 Criminal Law Amendment Act, making all homosexual acts of ‘gross indecency’ illegal. This small section in the Act greatly impacted homosexual legislation throughout Great Britain.
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"LAVENDER SCARE" |
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During the Cold War, thousands of gay employees were fired from the American federal workforce, viewed as threats to National Security. In the UK, retaliation against homosexuals grew in 1951 after two homosexual spies who supplied classified information for decades defected to the Soviet Union.
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"...gay people lacked emotional stability, had weak 'moral fiber', were a bad influence on the young, and attracted others of their kind to government service." |
"...suppression of homosexuality [was] a primary goal of law enforcement agencies." |
During the 1960s, homosexuality was viewed as a disease that could be cured.
"In 1952, the American Psychiatric Association's first Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders officially classified homosexuality as a 'sociopathic personality disturbance'."
- Judith Adkins, 2016, "Congressional Investigations and the Lavender Scare [National Archives]"
"Specific targets for arrests of homosexuals were established by local police authorities, who also devised the means used to arrest homosexuals. By the late 1940s, the Metropolitan Police offered detailed training courses, preparing officers to go "underground" in homosexual milieus. Entrapment became common, and men were often arrested after performing sexual acts with policemen." |