Date: Sat, 06 Jun 1998 10:56:46 +0100 Subject: U.K. Defence minister queries gay ban From: OW-jgh George Robertson, the Defence Secretary, said the ban on gays in the military should "in principle" be lifted. The Army, Navy and Air Force had to be representative of the rest of society. He said: "The issue of principle says that people should all be treated equally," although he added that there were practical difficulties with regard to homosexuality. There was "an issue of practice, of operational effectiveness, which has also got to be taken into account". The Defence Secretary said ministers from his department would make a "firm recommendation" to Parliament on whether or not homosexuals should be allowed to join up. ==================================== As reported, it appears that ministers have not yet agreed whether this should be a firm recommendation to lift the ban, or a firm recommendation to continue it. -- So much for their commitment to "equality for all". ==================================== The "Electronic Telegraph" (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) quotes a spokesman for Stonewall as saying he believed that Mr. Robertson was instinctively "helpful" to the gay rights movement. However, he said: "The Government wants Europe to push them into making the decision to lift the ban so they can avoid the blame." John Hunt. -- You may leave this list automatically by sending a message to list-processor@diversity.org.uk, containing a line that says unsubscribe outrage-world The 'lists' command will give information about other services