Eliminate the "gay panic" murder defence from Queensland law

By Nathan Elvery, Change.org

“Yeah, I killed him, but he did worse to me.” These are the words of a man who reacted to some “gentle touching” from a gay man by ramming his victim’s head against a wall until he was unrecognisable, and then stabbing him to death [1].

This infamous 1997 case enshrined the “gay panic” defence in Queensland law -- allowing accused murderers to have charges downgraded if their victim was gay and “came onto” them. Just two years ago, a man was brutally killed in Father Paul Kelly’s church yard, and his killers used this same defence. They were subsequently acquitted of murder [2].

Father Kelly was horrified that this argument was even allowed in court, and wrote to the government along with thousands of others -- they didn’t respond. But with the Liberal National Party likely to win power in the March state election, there’s new hope. Father Kelly has started a Change.org petition calling on LNP leader Campbell Newman to abolish the law if he’s elected, and insiders say the party is already wavering.

If 10,000 people sign Father Kelly’s petition, his local member and senior LNP member Ted Sorensen has promised to take it to Parliament. Click here to sign the petition now.

A recent study named Queensland as Australia’s most homophobic state, and anti-gay violence is reportedly on the rise [3]. Laws like the “gay panic” defence are a crucial part of legitimising and reinforcing a culture which means that 73% of gay and lesbian Queenslanders are subjected to verbal abuse or physical violence for their sexuality [4].

While fierce community opposition has convinced almost all other state governments to abolish similar laws, the outcry has fallen on deaf ears in Queensland. It’s now one of the last states upholding the idea that a person can be panicked enough by gay and lesbian people to justify murder. Thousands like Father Kelly are fed up with the inaction -- it’s the perfect moment for Newman to take a stand and promise to deliver where the current government has failed.

Join Father Kelly to make sure “gay panic” is never an excuse for murder.

This could be the best chance Queensland will have for years to fix what law expert Alan Berman calls a “repulsive and dangerous partial defence”. If thousands of people speak out now, it will force Newman to commit to closing the loophole -- and take meaningful steps towards reducing discrimination and violence towards gay and lesbian people in Queensland.

Stand with Father Kelly and tell Campbell Newman this outdated “gay panic” law has no place in a modern society.

Thanks for being part of this,

Nathan and the Change. org team

[1] Courier Mail, “Law says it's not murder if the victim is gay and "comes on to you"

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/better-laws-needed-to-protect...

[2] Brisbane Times, “Men jailed over churchyard 'homosexual' bashing death”

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/men-jailed-over-churchyard-ho...

[3] Anti-gay violence on the rise

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/queensland/gay-men-targets-of-viole...

Queensland Australia’s most homophobic state

http://www.glhv.org.au/files/aust_inst_homophobia_paper.pdf

[4] Dr Alan Berman, legal expert and co-author of a study into homophobic violence in Queensland http://lgbtlawblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/homophobic-violence-in-queenslan...

Comments

Would this be the same father Kelly that represents a Church full of child molesters and people that cover up for child molesters?Could there be a hidden agenda here?
I am a man and I would not just start gentle touching of a women that did not show signs that she was interested in that type of behaviour from me this is wrong for a man to do to a woman.For a man to do that to a normal man would be one of the most disgusting things that could happen while I would not kill him for it, I know people that would give him a beating that would put him in Hospital for a very long time and they would be willing to go to gaol for their actions,Homosexuals must realise that to a normal man this is the most vile thing Imaginable and you are playing with death if you go down that street so it would be a good idea to make sure you know that the bloke you are coming on to is another Homosexual or you might not live to regret it thats just how normal men are you have been warned

I like how you sexually challenged people try to twist the story by calling real men homophobic and making out we have mental issues when it is clear you are the ones with the problems. Homosexuals in Australia are at the highest risk of getting AID's because of your sick actions and still you say there is nothing wrong with sodomy WTF.Most pedophiles in the world are homosexuals deny that fact I dare you.What next you will label people pedophobic because we think child molesters should all die a painfull death

Well done Paul I have already signed

Great Content of article.

I have started a petition too get Father Kelly removed from the Catholic Church this petition will be passed around Catholic churches Australia wide for Catholics to sign we have over 4000 signatures and counting.This petition will be sent to Pope Benedict XVI

To have a Catholic Priest standing up for sodomists is a bit on the sick side considering all the boys that have been raped by catholic priests Father Kelly has bad taste and no brains at best.My dislike of sodomists came from the teachings of the Catholic Church.

If you would like to sign there should be a petition at your local church within the month keep a eye out for it.

Amazing. Father Kelly’s campaign to close the “gay panic” loophole in Queensland has surged to over 13,000 signatures in less than 48 hours, and ignited a furore all over mainstream and social media. The petition trended on twitter, was featured in the Daily Telegraph in Sydney, and even made front page of the Courier Mail in Brisbane.

The Government says they’re waiting for a recommendation from a law review committee before deciding whether to close the loophole -- but insiders say the committee is unlikely to recommend a single change.

Thanks to Father Kelly’s campaign there's huge momentum for change, and continued pressure may just force action regardless of the committee. He needs every signature to persuade both Labor and the LNP to legislate to close this "gay panic" loophole.

Help Father Kelly reach 20,000 signatures -- share the petition now on Facebook, Twitter or via email and by spreading this link to the petition -- http://chn.ge/zwWWzT -- far and wide.

The government is trying to deflect attention, claiming that it’s closed the loophole that allows non-violent homosexual advance to be used as partial defence for murder. But the truth is that along with NSW, Queensland is the only state where the “gay panic” defence is still allowed in court.

As the intense media coverage continues, opposition leader Campbell Newman has the perfect opportunity to take a bold stand. He’s hesitating, but a surge of public support could convince him that he can win crucial public favour in the lead up to the election in March. What’s more, his public commitment might just convince the government it needs to stop “tinkering on the edges of reform” and commit to meaningful changes as well.

Help spread the word and make sure both sides have no choice but to stand against the “gay panic” defence. Click here to share Father Kelly’s petition on Facebook, Twitter or via email.

Every extra signature will add to pressure on both sides -- and ensure that whoever wins March’s state election, “gay panic” will no longer be a partial justification for murder.

Thanks for being part of this,

Nathan and the Change.org team

There is a petition getting around to get Father Kelly kicked out of the Catholic Church because of his stance on sticking up for Gays and that is what he is doing If he was interested in human rights he would be more out spoken about the Gay Priests who rape young boy's don't be fooled

Paul - People like you need to be eradicated or put in their place. Most peadophiles consider themselves to be STRAIGHT and I know this as a fact. Also, we are not sick and we DO NOT get AIDS moreso than the straight person. You obviously have been living under a rock on a planet I've never even heard of.

1 in 5 gay, bisexual men in U.S. cities has HIV. Read more.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/09/23/us-aids-usa-idUSTRE68M3H220100923

Homosexual men account for nearly half of the approximately 1.2 million people living with HIV in the United States (49%, or an estimated 580,000 total persons).Thats a big number considering the ratio of Homosexuals to normal people!Read more
http://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/docs/fastfacts-msm-final508comp.pdf

HIV transmission in Australia occurs primarily through sexual contact between men. Around 65% of people newly diagnosed with HIV in 2009 were among men who have sex with men; 28.7% were exposed through heterosexual contact; 2.3% were due to injecting drug use; and a further 3% were men with a history of both injecting drug use and sex with other men.
Read more facts here.
http://www.avert.org/aids-hiv-australia.htm

California Homosexual Organization Admits HIV/AIDS is “Gay Disease”
http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/archive/ldn/2006/oct/06100404

A study of convicted child molesters, published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, found that “86 percent of offenders against males described themselves as homosexual or bisexual” (W. D. Erickson, M.D., et al., in Archives of Sexual Behavior 17:1, 1988).

A large percentage of male pedophiles are homosexual or bisexual in orientation to children, meaning they are attracted to male children or both male and female children (Schiffer, 2008).

In 1995 the homosexual magazine "Guide" said, "We can
be proud that the gay movement has been home to the few voices who have
had the courage to say out loud that children are naturally sexual" and
"deserve the right to sexual expression with whoever they choose. …" The article went on to say: "Instead of fearing being labeled pedophiles,
we must proudly proclaim that sex is good, including children's
sexuality … we must do it for the children's sake."

In a study of advertisements in the influential
homosexual newspaper, The Advocate, Reisman found ads for a "Penetrable
Boy Doll … available in three provocative positions. She also found that the number of erotic boy images in each issue of The Advocate averaged
14.

The Journal of Homosexuality recently published a
special double-issue entitled, "Male Intergenerational Intimacy,"
containing many articles portraying sex between men and minor boys as
loving relationships. One article said parents should look upon the
pedophile who loves their son "not as a rival or competitor, not as a
theft of their property, but as a partner in the boy's upbringing,
someone to be welcomed into their home."

NAMBLA--the North American Man-Boy Love Association--was once the lone voice lobbying for the normalization of pedophilia. NAMBLA representatives marched in gay-priPsychoanalysis recognizes the child abuser as typically an immature man who wants to "give love" to a boy which he did not himself receive in childhood. He makes a narcissistic identification with the child, seeing him as an idealized version of himself, and perceives himself as giving the same love which he wishes he had received from his own father. Thus the pedophile cannot understand that he is inflicting emotional damage.de parades as a fringe element of the gay-rights movement.
http://www.narth.com/docs/pedophNEW.html

You obviously have been living under a rock on a planet I've never even heard of.Here is a challenge go ask a group of homosexuals how many people do they know of, that have Aids or have died of Aids? then ask the same question to a group of people who do not associate with homosexuals I bet you any money you like the Homosexuals will know many and the normal people will know none.

If you are a homosexual you need to know the real threat of AIDs for your own sake take the blinkers off. Go see a doctor that is a expert in this field ask him if you are in the highest risk group then ask your self why,Then tell me I am wrong

You say " People like you need to be eradicated or put in their place" Are you sure it's people like me I don't spread AID's or molest children

Paul it's good to see the other side of the Gay issue I did not know AID's was a Gay disease thanks for enlightening me.You would think that the Gay community would wake up for the safety of the rest of us the stats are horrorfying