In NSW You Can No Longer Justify Murdering Someone With “Gay Panic Defence”

The gay panic defence – yes, a legitimate legal defence in which those accused of violent crimes (usually a heterosexual man) can mitigate the severity of their punishments by pleading temporary insanity caused by the unwanted advances of a gay man eg. I punched him to death because I’m really scared of gay people – will soon be abolished in New South Wales, as it has been in Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania, ACT and NT, following legislation passed in the upper house of State parliament today.    

The defence for which there is no real heterosexual equivalent effectively rewards homophobic behaviour by arguing that a heterosexual person can find romantic advances of someone of the same gender so disturbing, repulsive and unthinkable that they enter a temporary state of insanity. It is predominantly cited to downgrade premeditated murder charges to manslaughter and in this day and age is basically to legal defence what female hysteria was to medical diagnoses. Ridiculous, outdated and prejudiced. 
NSW Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby convenor Justin Koonin welcomed the amendments yet to (but expected) to pass in the lower house.
“We are delighted that this bill has passed the Legislative Council, as it brings us one step closer to the demise of a legal defence that has no place in contemporary society,” Koonin said. “We urge the Legislative Assembly to pass this Bill as a matter of urgency, so that we can finally lay the Homosexual Advance Defence to rest in New South Wales.”  

Good work, everyone.  
Image via Getty 

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