Massive response to gay panic repeal efforts

Attempts to eradicate Queensland’s ‘gay panic’ legal loophole broke new ground this week, as an online petition reached more than 20,000 signatories in support of its elimination.

British comedian Stephen Fry also joined calls for an end to the legal defence, sharing a link to the petition with his 3.7 million Twitter followers last week.

The issue has received national coverage since Queensland priest Father Paul Kelly started the campaign to end the loophole which allows people accused of murder to claim partial defence of provocation in relation to a homosexual advance.

The national attention forced the state Government to defend its response to the issue last week.

Attorney-General Paul Lucas stressed that an expert committee is still examining the loophole and will report back soon. He also continued to push the Government’s line that while there was no sign of immediate action on this or legal issues such as age-of-consent disparities, there would be next to no chance of action under a Liberal National Party (LNP) government.

“You don’t meddle with the Criminal Code lightly. That’s why it’s important to take expert advice and that’s what the Government has done at all stages,” he said.

“On the other hand, the LNP goes into Parliament and votes en bloc to oppose other equality issues for the gay community such as civil partnerships and same-sex surrogacy.”

Kelly’s campaign to remove the loophole followed the 2008 killing of a man in his church grounds in Maryborough.

The defendants used the gay panic defence, claiming the victim came on to them and the sheer panic they felt was partial justification for murder.

INFO: The petition can be found at www.Change.org under the title ‘Eliminate the gay panic defence from Queensland law’.