Gay Guide United Kingdom

In England, Scotland and Wales the general age of consent is 16. Only in Northern Ireland it used to be 17, but it was reduced to 16 at the beginning of 2009. In England, Scotland and Wales, gays, lesbians and bisexuals are protected from discrimination by a whole range of regulations in professional life and in the use of goods or services, such as hotel accommodation or health care. In England and Wales, gay marriage has been pushed through Parliament and the House of Lords under the conservative-liberal government of David Cameron. In contrast to France, there are hardly any protests from the general population, only religios groups and clergy have shown great resistance. In Northern Ireland, on the other hand, parliament has rejected the opening of marriage, so that this part of the UK is the only one to explicitly deny right of marriage to gays and lesbians. The referendum on the withdrawal from the European Union, the so-called "Brexit", was supported by a narrow majority. There were large regional differences, which make the political situation unclear in the future. The Scottish Parliament is considering a new referendum to withdraw from the United Kingdom after the Scottish voted by a large majority to remain in the EU. In Northern Ireland, there is a danger that strict border controls on the border with the Republic of Ireland will revive decades of regional conflict. As far as the legal situation for gays and lesbians is concerned, leaving the EU has no impact. Since 2016, the sale of psychoactive substances has been banned in the UK, there is a list of exceptions (including caffeine, alcohol, tobacco), but it does not include poppers. Even if you try to bring in a vial for your holiday, you could get into trouble: The import as such is illegal, only the possession is not.