The Catholic priest fighting to repeal the homophobic law that shames Australia
Father Paul Kelly is fighting for a somewhat unlikely cause - and that's why he might be destined to win.
May 17, 2016 - 10:43AM
Karen Skinner
In two Australian states, you can get away with murder if you say a gay man came on to you.
It's a historic law that's still on the books in South Australia and Queensland. It still has teeth. Just last month in South Australia, the "gay panic" defence was used as part of a successful appeal that granted a retrial to Joseph Lindsay, the killer of Andrew Negre.
NSW was the last state to repeal it, in 2014. Every day this law is still on the statute anywhere in Australia is another day a killer could walk free without a murder sentence.
The outrage at such injustice has riled one unlikely campaigner on this gay equality issue: a Catholic priest. While the Australian Catholic Church lobbies hard against marriage equality to MPs, Telstra, or gay chief execs like Alan Joyce, Father Paul Kelly lobbies with just as much fervour from an altogether different angle. He thinks the "gay panic" defence is a "homophobic, demeaning, dangerous insult" to gay people and "allows killers to walk away with paltry sentences".
Father Paul Kelly started a petition to get rid of the "gay panic" defence in South Australia and Queensland.
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/the-catholic-bishop-fighting-to-repeal-the-homophobic-law-that-shames-australia-20160516-gowhg5.html
2:28 video at link.
