Posted on 08/27/2005 7:42:23 PM PDT by FairOpinion
LONDON (AFP) - The British army joined in a gay pride march for the first time, an army spokesman said.
Troops in uniform joined the annual Gay Pride festival in Manchester, northern England, on the march through the city centre, with thousands of supporters watching from the sidelines.
The army was out to attract homosexual recruits and show it can be gay-friendly.
Soldiers gave out sweets as their float travelled along the two-mile (three-kilometre) course, following a float of muscular men in pink Lycra shorts dancing to music and blowing whistles.
"We don't really care what sexual orientation you are if you want to come and join us in the army," said Logistics Corps warrant officer Lutha Magloire, 39, part of the Army's Diversity Action and Recruitment Team.
"The army reflects society and we must recruit from all sections, so if there is prejudice in society it will be in the army also.
"But the army can only get better the more it represents all the community."
The British army has attended cultural events before, Magloire said, but this was the service's gay festival debut.
The Royal Air Force took part for a second successive year, with a float featuring a plane's cockpit.
Though several marchers were dressed in sailors' uniforms, there was no official Royal Navy representation.
Until January 2003, Britain's armed forces were legally allowed to dismiss homosexual officers.
The march kicked off a three-day festival, attracting an estimated 250,000 people to Britain's third city.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
It gives the term "bugger off" new meaning..
this is so damn sick.....
LOL!!!!
This reads like parody.
British law forbade homosexuals in the armed forces, but the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the British military law was contrary to the European Charter of Human Rights, and ordered Britain to cancel its anti-gay military law and admit gays into the British armed forces without restriction.
Britain obeyed.
In theory gays must be allowed in all European armed forces.
In practice, being openly gay will get the crap beaten out of you in the armed forces of any of the Latin countries (Italy, France, Spain, etc.).
Why the British have decided to outwardly EMBRACE homosexuals in the service?
Well, the French would say that this is not surprising, given that they're English and all...
Sadly, they (1) could beat the pants off the French military, and (2) probably would want to.
later pingout unless you get to it first.
Note to all: The link I posted above is full of anti-Bush propaganda. I wonder how they got that domain name registered.
"And next the men of the Second Armoured Division regale us with their famous close order swanning about."
"Squad! ... Camp it! ... Up!"
"Oooh get her! Whoops!
"I've got your number ducky.
"You couldn't afford me, dear...two, three...
"I'd scratch your eyes out.
"Don't come the brigadier bit with us, dear,
"We all know where you've been, you military fairy!
"Whoops, don't look now girls,
"The major's just minced in
"With that dolly colour sergeant...
"two, three, ooh-ho!"
Frankly, I'd prefer camouflage fatigues.
???
Shitehouse.ORG and whitehouse.COM are anti-Bush sites, one of them was or still is a pornographic site, the other makes their site look like the real whitehouse.GOV site, but they are an anti-Bush propaganda site.
Rum, sodomy and the lash! It's a Brit tradition.
Get better at WHAT?
Though several marchers were dressed in sailors' uniforms, there was no official Royal Navy representation.
just a shred of hope left...
Oh, dear -- must have been a Freudian slip.
I meant Whitehouse.ORG is an anti-Bush site. The slip of the finger spelling is closer to appropriately represent what that site is about.
Is this for real or is it a Monty Python sketch?
But isn't registering under official names illegal? Why isn't that site pulled already? How many ignorant could have gotten mislead by that site! I was, almost, until I clicked on the other links in that page.
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