We must continue to fight the good gay fight

This week has been a milestone for equality.  Mind you, we’ve had quite a few of those this year, not least of all the Equal Marriage Bill which received Royal Ascent on 17 July. This week’s victory is smaller, but packs a punch. B & B owners Peter and Hazelmary Bull lost their Supreme Court battle to overturn the Court of Appeal ruling that they had been unlawful to refuse a double room to Martyn Hall and his civil partner Steven Preddy.

In 2011 the Bulls were ordered to pay the couple £3,600 in damages, but they insisted they had the right to refuse equal access to goods and services based on their religious beliefs that sex outside marriage is a sin.  It’s terribly presumptuous; how dare they think that Martyn and Steven would be so lustful at the sight of a mini kettle, a packet of shortbread biscuits and dubious soft furnishings that they’d get right down to some hot gay one on one action? But if they did, that would be their right, right? It was a thinly veiled case of homophobia, and gladly this country as laws against such discriminatory behavior, enshrined in the 2007 Sexual Orientations Regulations amendment to the Equality Act.

That’s just one of the many equality laws passed in the UK thanks to Labour.  LGBT rights were notoriously enshrined in the 1997 manifesto, and alongside organisations like LGBT Labour and the many activists that worked hard to get this on the agenda, we are finally seeing a more equal society. Trade Unions play their part too. I recently attended the GMB’s Trans Conference and Vigil on Transgender Memorial Day; it is the first union to hold such an event.

And for the few misguided types who actually believe the Equal Marriage Act was thanks to David Cameron, I beg you to think again.  It would have never happened without cross bench support; Yvette Cooper’s hugely moving Commons speech in support of the bill encapsulated why Labour’s core beliefs make it the only party truly dedicated to equality.  Nor would the bill have succeeded without the huge dedication from Labour peers in the House of Lords.

I have spent the last 25 years campaigning for LGBT equality, and feel hugely grateful that I live in a country with such strong equality laws. But we must continue to fight and close the gaps where prejudice is able to rear its ugly head.

Education should be our number one priority. Challenging homophobic language in schools is Stonewall’s latest campaign and is supported by Mumsnet. 99 per cent of lesbian, gay and bisexual young people hear phrases such as ‘that’s so gay’ or ‘you’re so gay’ in school. Even more upsetting is that only 10 per say that staff intervene every time they hear homophobic language.

Sadly, many young gay people consider suicide; according to statistics from the Lesbian and Gay Foundation, 1 in 5 lesbians have attempted suicide; Stonewall’s research says 16% of gay boys have done the same; this is three times higher than for their heterosexual peers. These tragic and needless deaths must stop.

Supporting our international LGBT brothers and sisters should also be a focus; from Uganda to Russia to Jamaica people are being persecuted and killed solely for who they are and who they love. Here in the UK the global LGBT rights organization Kaleidoscope Trust is a natural ally, and is currently compiling a timely report into Commonwealth LGBT human rights abuses.

Tackling homophobia in sport is also desperate for effective campaigning and outreach. The first ever Rainbow Laces campaign took place in September, encouraging every football team in the country to kick homophobia out of football. The spectre of Justin Fashanu looms large, and nothing has been done to face homophobia full on in the sport since his tragic suicide in 1998. Until more gay players feel safe to come out, we’ll have to settle for our pioneering straight allies like West Ham’s Matt Jarvis to bare their chests on the cover of glossy mags and hold the closet door open for their teammates.

The now infamous campaigning slogan “some people are gay…get over it” is bittersweet. Some of us have got over it. But there are many more who haven’t, which means we must continue to fight the good gay fight.