Scots campaign to be based on the Declaration
At the last meeting of the Scottish Minorities Group, before it turned itself into SHRG (the Scottish Homosexual Rights Group), members urged that the organisation should take up a wider and much more forthright stand on gay rights. There was criticism that the group was concentrating too narrowly on Robin Cook's law reform Bill which the Labour MP is still trying to get through the House of Commons.
Abstract: One response to change its name to a be more explicit.
The other, a forthright declaration. Bishops, MPs, local councillors, doctors & teachers may find the declaration thrust into their hands.
SHRG President, Malcolm Crowe said that there would be pamphlets aimed at uncommitted gays who use pubs and clubs.

To mark the birth of the Scottish Homosexual Rights Group (formerly the Scottish Minorities Group), members today publish the Declaration of the Rights of Homosexual Men and Women. The Declaration was drawn up by the organisation at a special conference in Dunfermline, the ancient capital of Scotland. Gay News is pleased to publish the full text of the Declaration below.

We Declare
... that homosexuality is as natural as heterosexuality, and that it is the natural sexual orientation of well over a quarter of a million people in Scotland.
... that homosexual people are found in all walks of life, are of all races and ages, and of all political and religious beliefs
... that the fear and hatred of homosexuality is a product of ignorance and insecurity.
WE HEREBY CLAIM OUR FULL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERITES.
Many of the rights and liberties we possess are subverted by bad legislation and prejudice. This declaration sets out the demands of the organised gay community in Scotland. These must be met if society is to be truly just.

1. We have the rights to equality before the law.
Both gay men and lesbian women encounter discrimination under the law of Scotland. Criminal law forbids public displays of affection and private sexual relations between men. Civil law denies us the right to adopt children, to retain employment if openly homosexual, to security of tenancy, to privacy.
The enforcement of morals, whether sexual, social, religious or political, should not be the business of the State. There should be the same laws for everyone, regardless of sex or sexual orientation, and no rule of law should prejudice homosexual men and women. In particular, legislation on sexual offences must not specify a different age of consent for homosexual people.

2. We have the right to equal opportunities in employment.
Industrial tribunals regard it as fair to dismiss employees for being openly homosexual. Teachers with unblemished careers are, struck off the register following a conviction that shows they prefer adults of their own sex. In the civil service and armed forces, homosexual people are considered a security risk because of an alleged danger of blackmail.
Employees private lives are no business of their employer. Thus homosexuality should not justify dismissal Or denial of promotion. Openness about homosexuality actually fosters better working relationships, and job security for gay people would remove a primary cause of blackmail. Trades unions and employers’federations must protect the rights of gay people at work.

3. We have the right to an education’ that, meets our needs.
A major area of oppression for young homosexual people is sex education which pretends that heterosexual relationships are natural for everyone and which treats homosexual relationships (if at all) as inferior, sick, or deviant.
Education must meet the needs of people growing up homosexual. There must be recognition, of the authenticity of the feelings of young gay ‘people. Homosexuality must not be dismissed as just a passing phase or something people grow out of. Homosexual teachers must be free to be open about their sexuality so that young gay people have positive homosexual people to look up to.

4. We have the right to live as we choose.
Homosexual people are prevented on all sides from building satisfactory lives.
In the family: We seek a change of attitudes here. There must be honest acceptance of the adoption of a homosexual lifestyle by any. member of the family. In housing: In the allocation of houses or mortgages, or in tenants’ rights, gay people should not b& at a disadvantage compared with heterosexuals. In child custody: A stable and loving relationship can be provided equally well in a homosexual household, and this must be recognised in the courts. If lesbian women wish to raise a family by AID, the choice should lie with them alone.
In kinship: Laws and practices governing kinship and dependency must recognise the validity of gay relationships. Homosexual people must be free to nominate homosexual partners for . all next-of-kin purposes.
In medicine: Homosexuality is not a sickness. The contrary assertion by some of the medical profession serves to force homosexual people into heterosexual relationships, with disastrous results.

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