The Oldest Gay In The Village

[joggerjayne]

How cool is this guy ...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-33741380

Every year, he takes part in the Pride Parade ... on his mobility scooter !!

He carries a banner saying " I'm the oldest gay in the village".

In the past, he has been given a criminal conviction for being gay. This weekend, he married his BF, to coincide with Pride Weekend.

That's the way to go when you're in your 90s!

[jno]

nobody ever got convicted of being gay, did they?

[joggerjayne]

Yup. From "Pink News" ...

"Mr Montague was convicted under Britain’s former anti-gay laws during his mid-40s.
Simon Kirby, the Conservative MP for Brighton Kemptown, has asked for the Ministry of Justice’s help to overturn the conviction."

[joggerjayne]

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2012/05/01/law-to-wipe-gay-sex-convictions-given-royal-assent/

[jno]

the laws didn't outlaw being gay, though, they just criminalised certain activities. I don't think being gay in charge of a mobility scooter was ever one of them. Anyway, good luck to him, outliving the law is an achievement.

[andy-hughes]

JJ - //Simon Kirby, the Conservative MP for Brighton Kemptown, has asked for the Ministry of Justice’s help to overturn the conviction." //

Not sure of your take on this, but it is reminisent of the petition for the quashing of the conviction of Alan Turing.

Personally, I don't believe that retrospective alterations of criminal convictions based on perceived social goodness, or as in this case, longevity.

The law cannot be undone simply because people think the convicted individual is an all-round good guy.

[sandyRoe]

At the bottom end of the scale, gross indecency, and at the other, Sodomy. I can't see anyone ever having been convicted for simply being themselves.

[joggerjayne]

Okay, technically (!) there was no law against "being gay".

So you could "be gay" ... as long as you didn't do "gay things"!!

Isn't that like saying there's no law against being a serial killer? You're allowed to be a serial killer, as long as you don't actually put it into practice, and kill anyone.

[smurfchops]

Love it .. good luck to him

[joggerjayne]

You're allowed to be a drink driver, as long as you don't actually drink alcohol before driving.

[Bazile]

//How cool is this guy ... //

What's cool about him ?

[jno]

well, no, you're only a serial killer if you've committed the, er, crime of serial killing.

But you can be gay without doing gay things.

sandyRoe, I'm sure sodomy is indeed at the bottom end...

[anotheoldgit]

Why the need to Broadcast it to the world?

[sp1814]

joggerjayne

Thanks for the post. Interesting fella...can you imagine the changes he's seen in his life? From fear of exposure and social ostracism to acceptance and all at an accelerated pace in the past 20 years.

I mean, we've jumped from our Prime Minister openly denouncing gay people at a party conference in the mid 80s, to another Prime Minister introducing a a same sex marriage bill 30 years later.

[ummmm]

Why not?

Declan Donnely's wedding was all over the internet last weekend.

[Bazile]

//Declan Donnely's wedding was all over the internet last weekend.//

Why was it all over the internet ? ( whoever Declan Donnely is )

[Retrochic]

Declan Donnely is an (alleged) celebrity. This man is old and Gay and getting married -who cares?

[sp1814]

AOG

Absooutely - all people, whether gay or straight should keep the identity of their partners secret.

They should get married in secret too, so that no-one can know which way they swing.

Also, people should be careful to avoid the use of personal pronouns when they talk about their partners.

When straight coupled get married, the bride and groom should not appear in any wedding photos, as this too would be a blatant broadcasting of their sexuality.

Oh, and no kids either.

We don't need to have their sexuality demonstrated by the production of progeny.

[joggerjayne]

You can't really be gay without "doing gay things".

Okay, you might have "gay feelings" ... in the same way that one might have murderous feelings, but not murder anyone (to pursue my earlier analogy).

But surely we can't (looking back) have accepted a society that said "You are allowed to be gay, as long as you just keep it in your head".

[ummmm]

Bazile - Ant and Dec.

[sp1814]

Retrochic

It's a human interest story.

He is the oldest man to enter into a same sex marriage in the UK (I believe).

If he were 28, there would be no story to tell.

Similarly, the reason why Dec's wedding is in the papers is because he's famous.