When gay became a four-letter word

BBC NEWS, Uk
January 20, 2000

Local government is hardly the most riveting subject and the clauses of bills relating to it normally go unnoticed by the general public. That all changed in 1988 when Parliament passed an amendment to the Local Government Act. The amendment, Section 28, was intended to stop local authorities promoting homosexuality.

Section 28 galvanised gay protesters

In a nutshell, that meant that council funding of books, plays, leaflets, films or any other material showing gay relationships as normal was banned.

The Local Government Act 1988 also introduced other things such as compulsory competitive tendering by councils for their services.

But it was Section 28 that grabbed the headlines and became a rallying call for gay rights campaigners.



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