The Royal British Legion have defended offering a pin for Remembrance Day that includes the Pride Progress flag.
The charity which supports people who have served in the arms forces and their families has defended their product saying LGBTIQ+ people are also members of the armed forces.
“Our Pride Badge symbolises support for the LGBTIQ+ community, an integral part of our Armed Forces past and present.
“It stands in solidarity with those who faced discrimination, especially under the Ban, when being gay, lesbian, or bisexual in the military was illegal.” they said in a social media post.
The pin can be bought from their website and retails at £8.00. The equivalent of AUD$15.75.
Remembrance Day, which is marked with a minute’s silence at 11am on November 11th, pays honour to all those who have died while serving in the military and commemorates the moment that the armistice ending World War I was signed in 1918. The red poppy became a symbol for the day taking inspiration from Canadian poet John McCrae’s 1915 work In Flanders Field which he wrote after seeing poppies growing in battle scarred fields.
The pairing of the Pride symbol and the poppy has left conservative television pundits and religious organisations fuming.
The Christian Institute highlighted veterans who have raised objects to the pin, including former Royal Marine and Falklands War veteran Jeff Williams who called the pin a “deeply offensive exercise in wokeism”.
Appearing on GB News former Conservative Party advisor Charlie Rowley said the creation of the pin was ridiculous.
“I think the whole thing is ridiculous, and I think most people would be sitting in their homes, looking at their television, thinking exactly the same.
“If there is one thing that is above politics and above any kind of division or any kind of group or section of society, whether it’s religion, race, sexuality, gender, it is about the people that put on that uniform and train to defend this country and many, many people across the world.”
The Royal British Legion said they had created the new pin after conducting a wide consultation with LGBTIQA+ service personnel.
