Video footage of Margaret Thatcher delivering an anti-gay speech in 1987 is going viral in the wake of the former British prime minister's death.
In the speech, given at a Conservative Party Conference on Oct. 9, 1987, Thatcher declares, "Children who need to be taught to respect traditional moral values are being taught that they have an inalienable right to be gay."
She then concludes, "All of those children are being cheated of a sound start in life -- yes, cheated."
You can read the full transcript of the speech here.
As the Associated Press reported, Thatcher died April 8 of a stroke. She was 87 years old.
Though some have heralded the "Iron Lady" as a gay icon, others have begged to differ.
"Thatcher's awesome belief in herself and in her vision for Britain, her commitment to the rights of the individual and sweeping economic policies, found her many like-minded gay supporters," Matthew Todd wrote in an April 10 editorial for The Guardian. "But, despite the Boadicea-like Commons performances, the hair, handbag and all the other hard to resist superficialities, the reality is that Thatcher presided over and took advantage of the most devastatingly homophobic time in recent British history."
Before You Go
