The government of the Australian state of Queensland is to modify its criminal law to remove the so-called "Gay Panic" defence, which is currently a partial defence for murder charges. The current defence involving "sexual advance" means the defendant, if successful, could be convicted of manslaughter rather than murder.
Queensland Attorney General Paul Lucas had commented that "members of the gay community had recently raised concerns that this could be used to establish so-call "Gay Panic" defence, where the defendant claimed the victim made a sexual advance towards them and provoked them into committing the act."
A local priest, Father Paul Kelly, started a campaign to change the law after a man was killed in his church grounds. The defendants had relied on the so-called "Gay Panic" defence. Father Kelly commented that even though the changes implemented were a "victory for commonsense" they did not extend wide enough to completely prevent the "homosexual advance" being used in court as a partial defence to murder. He commented "I am concerned the Government is tinkering at the edges of this problem rather than completely eliminating the possibility of the 'gay panic' defence being raised."
Click here to view an article on the issue by Pro Bono Australia.