Section 28 was introduced by the 1983-87 Thatcher administration as a reaction to what were then termed "loony left" Labour councils. Several of these councils caused widespread public outrage by issuing schoolbooks, such as the infamous "Jenny Lives with Eric and Martin", depicting homosexual love and children being reared by gay parents.

The Government of the day felt that the councils were in thrall to gay interest groups and were actively promoting a gay agenda at the expense of traditional values. This was not only contradictory to the Government's own moral beliefs, but was also contributing to a wider social breakdown that the Government wanted to reverse.

The current Government's plans to repeal S.28 have run into so much trouble that they have proposed a compromise alternative that would stress the importance of "family and stable relationships." However, many resent what they see as the Government's attempts to establish moral equivalence between Gay and married couples.