Stonewall UK
In the last few years it was successful in parliamentary lobbying. Its previous director Angela Mason (1992 to 2002) was awarded an OBE "for services to homosexual rights". Under her direction, Stonewall persuaded parliament to change the 2002 Adoption and Children Bill so that lesbian and gay couples were treated the same as heterosexuals. Under its current Chief Executive, Ben Summerskill, it was closely involved in successful parliamentary campaigns to repeal Section 28 of the Local Government Act (2003); make attacks on gay people separate crimes (that is, anti-gay hate crimes), through the Criminal Justice Act 2003; introduce the Civil Partnership Act 2004 giving gay and lesbian couples "civil union" almost the same as a civil marriage; and introduce the "2007 Sexual Orientation Regulations" under the Equality Act 2006, to stop discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.