IT was a huge step in the fight against discrimination.

On April 8 1988 Southampton activists took to the streets to protest against "spiteful" changes to UK law which would see the LGBT community directly targeted.

Section 28 of the Local Government Act forbid local authorities from "promoting" homosexuality.

It meant young LGBT people were prevented from talking to teachers or social workers about their sexual health and identity.

Books for children could not mention anything other than heterosexuality as a "normal" way of life.

And councils could not fund local LGBT groups.

The decade had unleashed not only the trauma of AIDS, but also a government intent on stamping out the burgeoning gay rights movement - which was itself making huge strides in protecting, informing and strengthening the LGBT community.

Margaret Thatcher told the Tory party conference that "children are being taught they have an inalienable right to be gay."

But her attempt at driving the community underground had the opposite effect.

It galvanized tens of thousands of people around the UK to take to the streets to hear leading LGBT figures like Sir Ian McKellan speak out - at the same time as outing himself to furious protestors as one of "millions of normal homosexuals" - who were all refusing to take Section 28 lying down.

Fired up alongside protestors around the country, Wessex Stop the Clause mobilised to make their voices heard - and with thousands of others took to the streets against Thatcher's government.

Around 100 members of Southampton's LGBT community - joined by friends and supporters - marched from Hoglands Park to East Park on April 8, heading to a rally to hear from speakers including then Councillor Wyn Jeffery, Debbie Robertson and Richard Correll .

Participant Sue Johnson had come to the city as a student - and realised she wanted more visibility for the LGBT community.

She took part to demonstrate against the "onslaught" on the gay community she felt had been unleashed.

And having already organised a Southampton Pride week in 1986, the chemistry student knew the Clause 28 rally would be a key way to increase the community's visibility.

She said: "I felt like it was an onslaught on the community and it was important to be seen not to condone something that I thought was wrong.

"It was very much about being heard, and being visible.

"People thought we didn't exist, and saw us as other rather than people they knew.

"We put ourselves out there and said we are here.

"When I arrived here it was all very clandestine. You had to put little notes in pigeon holes if you wanted to be part of the gay society so that people didn't know that you had done it.

"So we made a book stall at lunchtime with books from October Books - so that people could see what we looked like - we exist.

"I just wanted other people who felt that they might be gay to know that they weren't alone."

A press release from the day reads: "Speakers addressing the crowd included Cllr W Jeffery, Debbie Robertson, Richard Correll and others representing the local NUS and local lesbian and gay groups.

"In addition an information stall in Guildhall Square produced a positive response from the general public and signatures were collected for a petition to Southampton city council."

But it goes on to say that the "only sour note" of the day was that "a debate planned for the evening on the issues raised by the clause had to be cancelled when the local conservative party refused to send a speaker."

Speaking to the Echo this week Wyn Jeffery, cabinet member for leisure at the time, said: "It was a horrible, spiteful, nasty clause. I have always believed that if you don't challenge something then you are condoning it. I was a teacher at the time and it meant I couldn't challenge homophobic attitudes in the classroom."

Sue - who now works as an equality and fairness policy officer for Greater London Authority - added that the march was part of the reason young LGBT people now have more freedom than they did back then - and that it means there's no more hiding in the shadows.

She said: "It's ok to be out and seen now.

"But I've noticed that Prides nowadays are a big party - they aren't political events any more. The floats are commercial rather than community groups."

Despite the protests Section 28 was brought in in May 1988. It stated that a local authority "shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality" or "promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship."

It wasn't repealed until 2000 in Scotland and 2003 in the rest of the UK.

David Cameron made a public apology in 2009.

Southampton's Conservative leader Cllr Jeremy Moulton told the Echo this week: "I know that the strong feeling from Conservatives today is that Section 28 was a mistake."

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