Roadster, as an openly gay RAF officer, I have to say that comments like:
Its living with the fudge packers in peace time thats the hard part, being such a culture shock for most.
and:
A closet glue-gargler came out on the day it was legalised in my unit a few years back.
are ineloquent, miss the point, and belie your ignorance of the prevailing views of the Armed Forces. Trying to justify it afterwards, in the face of mounting criticism, doesn't really change the fact that you made the comments in the first place. I don't find such comments offensive, just a little bit sad. So, the facts:
Meeting gay people is NOT a culture shock for most people joining today, and you're assuming that when gay men are in a dorm or 12x12 all we think about is seducing our fellow personnel. We don't. Like everyone else, we think about strangling the snoring techie in the next tent.
The ban was never enshrined in law, and required no legislation to be lifted - just a declaration from the leadership. The rule was an order, not a legal principle. This is why Parliament did not have to approve the policy change. But then, since Parliament contains enough woofters for it to be able to host Mr Gay UK if it so chose, I suppose it's a mere point of interest.
The Conservative Government stopped people being sent to Colchester for their sexuality in 1994. The only reason people went there was because joining and not declaring your sexuality meant that you were disobeying a direct order. Remove the order, and you remove the offence. Let us not forget that Mr Major was boffing Ms Currie at the time - surely in the light of such horrors you can forgive homosexuality?
Finally, comparing homosexuality with long hair is disingenuous and plain stupid. Who are you???
Being gay is NOT a choice. Being prejudiced IS a choice.
The policy change was an overwhelming non-event, especially for new recruits. The young people joining now (I joined after the ban was lifted) simply do not have an issue with gay personnel. I can vouch for that, and I have friends who agree too. The simple fact now is that I can live my life without fear of invasive personal interviews concerning my sexuality, and without fear of dismissal for something I have no control over (big news... I didn't choose to be gay!). Most people honestly do not care whether the person they work with is gay, as long as they are professional.
Lest we forget, the Armed Forces want the best people from society to join our ranks. Banning people from joining on the basis of their sexuality risks banning some of the very people we need - intelligent, healthy, physically fit men and women with the desire and capacity to lead and prevail in difficult circumstances. Gay or straight, does it really matter?
In other news, I see that the gay lifestyle magazine
Attitude has done an interview with serving gay officers from the RN, Army and RAF. Very good indeed - if it appears online I'll post a link.