British Royal Navy Will Recruit Gays

Britain’s Royal Navy, which until five years ago banned gays from its workforce, on Monday announced a drive to recruit gays and lesbians.

The Navy also said gay service members would be able to live in married quarters with their partners starting later this year.

The Royal Navy said it was entering a program organized by the gay rights group Stonewall, which advises employers on dealing with gay, lesbian and bisexual staff members.

The government lifted a ban on gays serving in Britain’s armed forces in 2000 after a lengthy campaign spearheaded by Stonewall. The Defense Ministry had said lifting the ban would undermine morale and fighting capability, but the European Court of Human Rights ruled in 1999 that the restriction was a violation of human rights.

“The armed forces regard sexual orientation as a private matter,” a ministry spokesman said Monday. The Royal Navy’s decision to join the Stonewall Diversity Champions program was “part of our equal opportunities and diversity policy anyway,” he added.

In the program’s first year, seminars, pamphlets and advice will be made available to service members, Stonewall said.