Section 28 of the UK’s Local Government Bill was only added to that Bill on December 8th 1987. Yet, within a week, the newly-created Organisation for Lesbian and Gay Action (OLGA) had organised an 800-strong lobby of MPs at the Houses of Parliament.

A report of the first responses to Clause 28 (or Clause 27 as it was initially) from London’s Capital Gay newspaper. Thanks to Rob Pateman for the photo.

Shortly thereafter, OLGA organised a series of strategy meetings at Islington Town Hall as well as a picket of the Greater London Labour Party.

But momentum really began to build in January when a national demonstration, called at short notice over the Christmas period, attracted 12,000 people. Press reports at the time suggest that many of the demonstrators thad neven been on a demonstration before. But Section 28 (or Section 27 as it was initially) had changed all that – people were furious.

The anger of the protestors was matched by the heavy-handed nature of the police response. Mounted police and riot police were present at the demonstration’s rallying point. There were also allegations of police brutality when demonstrators broke through a police cordon at Downing Street.

By the end of the day, more than 40 people had been arrested and charged with a bizarre range of offences that included kissing in public and carrying two banner poles.