![\"against](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.towleroad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/against-the-law-BBC.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nAs part of its Gay Britannia season marking the 50th anniversary of the Sexual Offences Act<\/a> 1967, the BBC has released footage of gay<\/a> men<\/a> discussing how anti-gay<\/a> laws continue to have an affect on to this day.<\/span><\/p>\n The 1967 law partially decriminalized homosexual acts that took place in private between two men<\/a> over the age of 21 in England and Wales.<\/span><\/p>\n The clip is taken from docu-drama <\/span>Against the Law<\/span><\/i> which is due to air on July 26th. Starring Daniel Mays and Mark Edel-Hunt, it follows the 1954 trial of Conservative English politician Lord Montagu for gay<\/a> sex<\/a> offences. It also features real-life testimony from gay<\/a> men<\/a> including 89-year-old Roger Locklear.<\/span><\/p>\n In the clip, Locklear says:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBeing gay<\/a> was a very tricky business. It was frowned upon by society, it was punishable by imprisonment.\u00a0<\/span>If heterosexuals had been subject to the force of law, if their relationships had been frowned upon, it\u2019s most unlikely they would have settled into long term marriages. They had public opinion and the law behind them.\u00a0<\/span>In the case of homosexuals, they had public opinion and the law distinctly against them. So the whole climate was opposed to the building of relationships.\u00a0<\/span>In fact I think many gay<\/a> people half believed \u2013 because they were told so often \u2013 that if you were gay<\/a> you couldn\u2019t have a relationship.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Another man<\/a> interviewed says: \u201c[Being gay] was a no-no, so I had to be on my own, so I\u2019ve been used to it since childhood, being a loner. Never enjoyed it I can tell you. It was awful. But that\u2019s that way it is.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Of the Gay Britannia series, Patrick Holland, Channel Controller BBC Two, said: <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis is a rich and compelling set of programmes that challenge us all. From the heart-breaking testimony of the men<\/a> who lived through the years before partial decriminalization in Against The Law and Patrick Gale\u2019s intensely personal Man In An Orange Shirt, to a documentary revealing the experience of people facing discrimination in the UK today, this season is a powerful examination of how far we have come \u2013 whilst also exploring how much further we have to travel.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Watch the interviews and a trailer for\u00a0Against the Law<\/em> below.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The post 89-Year-Old Man Tearfully Recalls Impact UK\u2019s Anti-Gay Laws Have Had on His Life: VIDEO<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad<\/a>.<\/p>\nRELATED:\u00a0Northern Ireland To Pardon Gay and Bisexual Men Convicted of Sex Offenses<\/a><\/em><\/h2>\n
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