3.  Early gay and lesbian activists faced many obstacles. Gay men were particularly at risk of being caught by the police and imprisoned because of their sexuality.  In 1952 the new Commissioner of Police at Scotland Yard would actively encourage the arrest and prosecution of large numbers of gay men.

4.  Throughout the 1950’s and the1960’s gay men were finding themselves the victims of entrapment, police officers baited gay men in locations that they used for the purposes of meeting other men for sex.  The extent of the damage of arrest and subsequent court case was too much for some, with suicide being their final tragic end.

5.  The Sexual Offences Act became law in 1956, this criminal position of gay men, determined much of the police activity against homosexuals in the country (England).  1967 saw the Sexual Offences Act decriminalise homosexual acts between two men over 21 years of age and ‘in private.’

6.  The Committee for Homosexual Equality (CHE)was formed in 1969.  1970 the first gay demonstration in the UK took place in Highbury Fields in Islington (London).  London Gay Liberation Front – GLF – founded on the 13 th October 1970.  In 1971 the Committee for Homosexual Equality was renamed The Campaign for Homosexual Equality.

7.  At last homosexuality was being talked about, in the papers and in politics. Films and television would begin to broaden the debate and continue to raise awareness in the wider population.  Gay men and Lesbians would begin to define themselves and their sexuality and actively come out and to campaign for equal rights across the country.

8.  Gay men and lesbians began to feel less isolated, as they made contact with one another the realisation that though society had branded them diseased, there was in fact nothing wrong with them!  The witch hunts and the trials, designed to send gay men and lesbians running, had the opposite effect, the vilification of homosexuals only served to acknowledge the presence of gay men and lesbians.

9.  By the end of the 1960’s homosexuals would still be the object of derision or dislike and at best self-pity but the mood was changing and it was one of celebration. A new generation was going to change the way that society thought about many things, they were not going to be tied down by laws and constraints

10.  The sixties saw a time of social and political challenges on a number of issues from nuclear disarmament, the war in Vietnam, Women’s rights and rights for Black people.  The Minorities Rights Group set up in 1963, had been the first to be explicitly dedicated to lesbian social and political organisation, by the late sixties it was recruiting regional representatives and across the country lesbians were involved in campaigning.

11.  Gay men and lesbians found themselves marginalised in many of the groups campaigning for political and social change...the social and political conditions were ready and so lesbians and gay men set up their own organisation.....the Gay Liberation Front

12.  Britain’s first Gay Pride March took place in London in1972, this was the first public outing of the Gay Women’s Liberation.  The GLF had lasted for less that 4 years, but its actions had far reaching effects. It had set up the first Gay Pride March and created the right environment for the first ‘gay’ newspaper in Britain, Gay News.  1978 the International Gay Association (later International Lesbian and Gay Association) met in Coventry.

13.  There was a good guy, bad guy routine between the CHE and the GLF with one organisation putting the issues in front of people’s faces and the other taking the more measured approach and capitalising on the publicity and putting the issues onto the National Agenda!

14.  After the devastation of HIV/AIDS and the backlash against gay men as a result further damaged our efforts for equality.  In 1988 Section 28 of the Local Government Act – preventing the promotion of homosexuality by local authorities came into force.  Lesbians abseiled into the House of Lords and invaded BBC News in protest against Section 28.

15.  Stonewall Group set up to oppose Section 28 and campaigns to remove other blocks to equality for lesbians and gay men.  In 1990 the direct action group Outrage is set up in response to the murder in London of the gay actor Michael Boothe.  The Lesbian & Gay Police Association LAGPA is formed in 1991.

16.  Today lesbians, gay men, bisexual and transgender people are protected by laws and legislation.  These laws are still being amended and new considerations such as inclusion of Gender reassignment in the Equality Act 2010.  2013 saw same sex marriage pass through Parliament in England.

17.  It is important that LGBT people maintain the campaigning today and in the future, we still have work to do.  Homophobia is one area that still causes concern, the resulting homophobic bullying and homophobic (Transphobic) hate crime need to be addressed. We now work with partners such as the Police to achieve our aims.

18. Ben Vollans – GOBS Richard Kavanagh – OutREACH Cumbria Julie Dodd – Cumbria Constabulary