By B.J. Epstein Autumn 2009 As my partner and I were planning our recent trip to Cornwall (in the far southwest of the English mainland), I was surprised by the number of B&Bs there that claimed to be “gay-friendly.” The last supposedly gay-friendly place we’d stayed at was a hotel in cosmopolitan London where, when
Contemporary British attitudes towards LGBT rights and homosexuality are regarded as generally liberal. The age of consent stands at 16 – regardless of sexual orientation. In 2004, the Gender Recognition Act created a process for transsexual and transgender people to change their legal sex. The landmark Civil Partnership Act 2004 created a parallel legal structure to marriage, giving gay couples all the rights and responsibilites of marriage, including the eligibility to apply to adopt children. In addition, discrimination based on both sexual orientation and gender identity is illegal in many fields, including housing, employment and the provision of goods and services. Likewise, Her Majesty’s Armed Forces allows LGBT individuals to serve openly. In December 2008, the United Kingdom – along with 65 other countries – signed a United Nations declaration calling for the global decriminalization of homosexuality.
Name: United Kingdom
Population: 60990000
Capital: London - Pop. 8278251
Area: 244820 sq. km/ sq. miles
Language: English
Religion: Christian
Status of Homosexuality: Legal
Telephone Country Code: +44
UK – Stratford-on-Avon
From a humble Stratford-on-Avon village emerged one of the world’s greatest writers, William Shakespeare (about whom very little is actuallyknown). He was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England’s national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or
UK – London
London is one of the oldest and most important commercial and cultural cities in the world. It is the most populous municipality in the European Union. In the past twenty years, starting in the 1980’s, London–and the United Kingdom–has become a leading proponent for gay human rights. The landmark Civil Partnership Act 2004 created a
UK – Bourton-on-the-Water, Costwolds, Gloucestershire
Bourton-on-the-Water is a village in Gloucestershire, England in the Cotswolds area. It is known as the ‘Venice of the Cotswolds’ because the River Windrush runs quietly through the center of the village and is spanned by several attractive stone bridges.