rdfs:comment
| - British law provides for equal ages of consent, regardless of sexual orientation, at 16. Same-sex marriage is not legal, even though polls suggest a majority of the electorate support gay marriage. In 2005, the Civil Partnership Act created a parallel legal structure to marriage, giving homosexual couples all the rights and responsibilites of marriage, including the eligibility to apply to adopt children. In 2004, the Gender Recognition Act created a process for transsexual and transgender people to change their legal gender.
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abstract
| - British law provides for equal ages of consent, regardless of sexual orientation, at 16. Same-sex marriage is not legal, even though polls suggest a majority of the electorate support gay marriage. In 2005, the Civil Partnership Act created a parallel legal structure to marriage, giving homosexual couples all the rights and responsibilites of marriage, including the eligibility to apply to adopt children. In 2004, the Gender Recognition Act created a process for transsexual and transgender people to change their legal gender. In addition, discrimination based on sexual orientation is illegal in many fields, including housing, employment and the provision of goods and services. discrimination based on gender identity is illegal in many fields, including employment and, more recently through EU directives overdue for implementation into UK statute, the provision of goods and services. The British military allows LGBT individuals to serve openly, though the climate in which they serve can be hostile, as exemplified in the recent case of Jan Hamilton. A compelling illustration of social attitudes towards homosexuality in the United Kingdom was provided in May 2007 in a survey by YouGov. The poll indicated that legislation outlawing discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation was supported by 90% of UK citizens. It also showed some very positive public perceptions of gay people in particular. There are very large gay communities in many UK cities, most notably in London, Newcastle, Manchester, Brighton and Birmingham.
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