Pride march targets age of consent
By Kamini Junankar
LONDON — Sixty thousand queer, bisexual and transgender people and supporters joined the Gay and Lesbian Pride march here on June 18 to commemorate the twenty fifth anniversary of the Stonewall riots where gays and lesbians fought back against police aggression.
The march, which started at Hyde Park and ended at Parliament Square, was loud and energetic. At its conclusion, tens of thousands of people continued to Brockwell Park in South London for a free festival which celebrated the diversity and unity of the lesbian and gay community.
There were many placards calling for equality between gays and straights with regard to age of consent laws. Also very visible was a bright pink banner proclaiming gay and lesbian solidarity with the miners. Many people also wore anti-racist stickers.
The 1994 official Pride guide mentioned the international significance of the South African constitution which enshrined the rights of gays and lesbians.
Though the movement for lesbian and gay rights has come a long way since 1969, there is still much to be achieved. In Britain, activists are campaigning to lower the age of consent to 16 in line with the law for heterosexuals. In February, the House of Commons voted to lower the age of consent from 21 to 18; 307 MPs voted against reducing it to 16.
Over the past two years homosexuality has been decriminalised in the Isle of Man, Gibraltar and the Channel Islands (UK).
A report by the civil rights group Liberty and gay and lesbian activist groups will be submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Committee. It states that Britain has the worst human rights record in Europe.
A 17 year-old-gay man has taken his case to the European parliament, pointing out that the law, which is supposed to "protect" people his age, is not only patronising but criminalises what should be a very basic right — to choose to have a relationship at the same age as a heterosexual.