A 25,000-signature campaign to close a legal loophole which allows people accused of murder in Queensland to defend themselves by claiming ‘gay panic’ appears to have been successful, with the state’s government now saying it’ll take action to amend the law.

Attorney-General Paul Lucas says last week the Queensland Law Reform Commission recommended the long-awaited changes to the law, which he assures us the government would adopt.

“We made it crystal clear from day one that the Queensland government does not believe that anyone should be able to use a claim of non-violent homosexual advance to reduce a conviction from murder to manslaughter,” says Lucas.

“These amendments [will] make it crystal clear that someone making a pass at someone is not grounds for a partial defence and by no means an excuse for horribly violent acts.”

The legal loophole has been taken off the lawbooks in all other states, and in New Zealand recently.

Lucas notes however that “It is not possible to remove sexual advances completely without affecting situations such as that of a battered woman who knows that her refusal of a sexual advance from her partner is a precursor to assault and she takes immediate action to stop this from happening.” So a ‘provocation’ defence may remain in “exceptional circumstances.”

Provocation law reform campaigner Paul Kelly says he welcomes the Queensland government’s pledge of action but is still worried about those ‘exceptional circumstances’.

“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,” he explains.

“The Attorney-General is fudging the issue when he argues that they cannot remove sexual advance completely without affecting situations such as those confronted by battered women. The reality is that this can be and should be dealt with under the area of self-defence, rather than provocation.

“My concern is that the ‘exceptional circumstances’ provision will still allow defence lawyers to pollute juries by raising the gay panic defence.”