Labour has been the first government in British history to pursue an agenda of seeking to deliver gay equality. Not only have we equalised the age of consent and seen a real and genuine attempt to repeal Section 28 (which sadly failed due to bigoted extremists such as Baroness Young, who opposed it in the House of Lords), but we have seen the Government being proactive, too. Take, for example, its recent proposals to break down the barriers surrounding gay partners adopting and lifting the ban on gay men and lesbians serving in the military.
Despite all of these positive moves, however, the gay community still has to face prejudice, intolerance and abuse on a day-to-day basis, whether in the workplace, school or street.
So, what gay equality legislation should we expect to see from a second Labour term? The Human Rights Act, which became law in October, means that the Government will need to have a radical and progressive agenda on gay equality soon after the election, or face being forced to act by the courts. The debate needs to move forward from campaigning to repeal Section 28 and passing an equal age of consent.
The problem with the majority of legislation at present is that it fails to recognise same-sex partners. This means gay couples don’t have the same rights as their heterosexual counterparts on a whole range of issues – pension rights, housing rights and rights in the workplace, to name but a few.
The workplace in particular can be a major battleground and environment for personal struggle. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that homophobic harassment cannot be dealt with by industrial tribunals as the law does not recognise discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. There must be laws to alter this situation.
The Government must ensure that the law recognises gay partnerships as valid relationships in the same way as married couples. It needs to legislate to ensure gay couples have the same benefits and rights in terms of pensions and inheritance tax. Essentially, gay couples should share the same rights and responsibilities as straight couples do. This would go well with the Government relaxing the rules surrounding adoption.
But all of these measures are useless unless they can overcome the legislative roadblocks that have arisen over the age of consent and repeal of Section 28. This means that any proposed gay rights legislation must be introduced in the House of Commons, ensuring that the Parliament Act can be invoked if right-wing extremists in the House of Lords throw the legislation back.
Lesbian, gay and bisexual people in this country need actions, not just empty rhetoric. A second term Labour Government must move further towards creating an inclusive and fair Britain where we have equality for all people, whatever their sexuality. If, as a start, the Government delivers policies such as equality in the workplace and equal partnership rights, then it will make a substantial difference to the daily lives of lesbian, gay and bisexual men and women in this country.