December 13, 2004

Study Explores European Countries Which Retain Military Gay Bans

Some European Nations Ban Gays Despite Ruling of European Court

SANTA BARBARA, CA,  – A new study published in the current issue of the University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy discusses why some European countries retain their bans on gays and lesbians in the military despite a 1999 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that forced Britain to lift its gay ban.

The study, titled “Homosexuality and the European Court of Human Rights: Recent Judgments Against the United Kingdom and Their Impact on Other Signatories to the European Convention of Human Rights,” was written by Dr. Sameera Dalvi and commissioned by the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military at the University of California, Santa Barbara. It is displayed with permission from the University of Florida Journal of Law Public Policy 2004.

While Britain, France, Germany and other European nations have lifted their bans against gays and lesbians, others such as Albania, Romania, Turkey, and Ukraine continue to prevent gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. A complete list can be found in the Appendix of
Dalvi’s study.

Please click here to download the study (PDF Document).

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