British To Outlaw Discrimination Against Military

In America, this is a day for remembering those who died in service to their country. In Britain, the armed forces are now so unpopular that a new law is being put forward to protect them.

Britain's Guardian newspaper reports on reasons for the new law which being proposed to outlaw discrimination against members of the armed forces.

*The armed forces minister, Bob Ainsworth, said the government was engaged in discussions about how the new law could be introduced, since discrimination against personnel in military uniform was "totally and utterly unacceptable". *

*The report cited a number of cases of discrimination, including a Harrods security assistant in 2006 preventing an army officer from entering the store after a Remembrance Day ceremony. *

*Staff at Birmingham airport last year told troops returning from Afghanistan to change into civilian clothes, and troops passing through Edinburgh airport were directed away from public areas. *

*Patients from the armed forces rehabilitation centre at Headley Court in Surrey were subjected to abuse by members of the public at a swimming pool, and abuse levelled at RAF personnel in parts of Peterborough led to restrictions on their wearing uniform in public. *

The problems follow a series of high-profile cases in which Iraqi civilians have been killed; it may also be significant that in a recent poll, the most popular reason given by Britons for the invasion of Iraq was "oil."
Unfortunately, you can't change public attitudes just by passing a law. And it doesn't look as though the government is going to put in the necessary effort to make a difference.

Davies called for a much better understanding of the role of the armed forces among the public, including more interaction between armed forces base commanders and their local community and MPs, a more constructive relationship with the media, and more parades for regiments returning from Iraq or Afghanistan.

All very worthy, but it's hard to see that any of this is going to stop the sort of abuse increasingly suffered by uniformed servicemen and women.