Not everything is discrimination

Maybe someone should tell Bristol Council's Rainbow Group which has expressed worries that the Council's plans to prune bushes and remove cover from an area known as the Downs to improve the landscape and encourage rare wildlife may be discriminatory. The reason is that a report on the plans stated:

"As part of the consultation, concerns were expressed by the council's Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Group (and a small number of other consultees) that this action was potentially discriminating against gay and bisexual men, whose activities on this part of the Downs were objected to by other members of the local community and Downs users."

The "activities" referred to are the partaking of sexual acts on the Downs.

I am confused, I thought that partaking of sexual acts in public was a crime. Is that the case? If it is the case then how can stopping it be discriminatory?

If you think that you may have heard of the Downs in the contest of public homosexual activity, then you are quite right. Last October it was revealed that four firemen had been disciplined for allegedly disturbing a gay sex session on the Downs by shining their torches into the bushes. After complaints that their actions were homophobic, the four officers were fined £1,000 and transferred to other fire stations.