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OurStory Scotland

... recording the stories of the LGBT community in Scotland

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Stewart Brown of the Fire Brigades Union

Stewart Brown

Supporting LGBT Rights in the Fire Brigades Union

Politics and Activism

Scotland has an honourable place in the world history of LGBT activism. The first ever International Gay Rights Conference was held in Edinburgh in 1974, and Britain's first Gay Centre was opened in Glasgow in 1977. The Scottish Minorities Group was instrumental in these developments. The Scottish Minorities Group originated in a meeting of about half a dozen men in January 1969 in the drawing room of Ian Dunn's parents' house in Glasgow.

More recently the Scottish Parliament led the way in abolishing the homophobic legislation Section 28 (2A in Scotland) three years before its Westminster counterpart.

Read more about the activism of the LGBT community in Scotland by clicking on the links below. You can also find out more about the SMG and Ian Dunn at the National Archives of Scotland and the Hall-Carpenter Archives (see links).

>> First Ever International LGBT Conference
>> Scottish Minorities Group
>> Section 28 (2A in Scotland) 1988-2000