Archive for August, 2006

Homophobic firefighters: anything but sexy, or heroic


Four firefighters – all male – are facing disciplinary proceedings because of their refusal to hand out leaflets at a Gay Pride event in Glasgow. Another five men had their cases considered last month and all nine will soon find out whether the Fire Brigade intends to take action against them. Some claim they did not think it was part of their duties while others would not attend on religious grounds.

Neither justification stands up to scrutiny. Having worked as a copyrighter for the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) some years ago, I know that every firefighter is expected to attend all manner of public events – school fetes, church fairs and, yes, Pride gatherings – to promote fire safety and recruitment into the service. Such activity is very much a part of a firefighter’s core duties, and every firefighter knows that. The men who claim otherwise are lying to cover their own bigotry. And how could a firefighter’s homophobia due to religious belief ever be allowed to stop outreach to the LGBT community? The answer is, it can’t. It would be outrageous in 2006 to allow a firefighter to effectively say, “I’ll do my job but not if there are queers around”. If we allow them to opt out of giving fire safety advice to the LGBT community and to distance themselves from recruitment drives, the message this sends out is clear enough: if you’re a member of that community and apply to become a firefighter, expect prejudice to go unchallenged. You’re simply not wanted.

Read the full article.

Monday, August 28th, 2006