A detailed website
resource regarding Age Of Consent and Legal Sexual Activity for the State of
Queensland’s age of consent is 16, but anal
intercourse (“sodomy”) involving any person aged under 18 is a criminal offence
under the "sodomy law" (Sections 208 and 209 of the Criminal Code
1899) - punishable with up to 14
years imprisonment.
From the website of Queer Radio, the gay & lesbian Community Radio program on 4ZZZ fm102.1
in
N.B: Please note that throughout this document and linked files the state government funded "Queensland AIDS Council" is now known (since June 2006) as Queensland Association for Healthy Communities.
The Proposal:
That
Queensland's Criminal Code be amended to be in line with every other Australian
State and Territory through the enactment of a truly equal age of consent
to sexual activity, in order to enable equity in the protection and
support of all youth regardless of their gender or their sexual
orientation.
Reasons for Equal Age Of Consent Reform in
- Since 2003
- The current law stands in
spite of the October 1990 "Report on Reforms In Laws Related To
Homosexuality" by the all
party Parliamentary Criminal Justice Committee , as Chaired by Peter
Beattie, in which majority Recommendation 7 was that "THE AGE OF
CONSENT FOR HOMOSEXUAL ACTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PRINCIPLES OF SEXUAL
EQUALITY AND ANTI-DISCRIMINATION BE THE SAME FOR MALES AS IT IS FOR FEMALES,
IRRESPECTIVE OF WHETHER THE SEXUAL ACT IS HETEROSEXUAL OR HOMOSEXUAL.”
- Queensland Anti-Discrimination
Commissioner Susan Booth
has declared that the discriminatory unequal age of consent is
in clear contravention of Article 26 of the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights: “In 1994 in
the case of Toonen V Australia, the United Nations Human Rights Committee
ruled that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Riqhts
prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The older age
limit for lawful sodomy in section 208 of the Criminal Code therefore
constitutes a discriminatory provision which breaches Article 26 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Other States and
Territories have, since the decision in Toonen, repealed similar
discriminatory and homophobic laws.”
- A truly equal age of
consent was recommended in the 1999 Report "Sexual Offences
Against The Person" by the Model Criminal Code Officers
Committee of the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General. They quote from the 1989
Fitzgerald Report: "Laws should reflect social need, not moral
repugnance. Unless there are pressing reasons to do so, it is futile to
try and stop activities which are bound to continue and upon which the
community is divided ... Where the moral issue is one upon which there is
room for seriously divergent opinions, the legislature should therefore
only interfere to the extent necessary to protect the community, or any
individuals with special needs. Generally those who take part voluntarily
in activities some consider morally repugnant should not be the concern of
the legislature unless they are so young and defenceless that their
involvement is not truly voluntary. (Fitzgerald Report,
Commission of Inquiry into Possible Illegal Activities and Associated
Police Misconduct, Report of a Commission of Inquiry Pursuant to Orders in
Council, Government Printer, Brisbane (1989) at 186 )
- The current law acts to impede the
most effective delivery of vital safe sex education to youth regarding
anal intercourse - an
activity which, without education for proper protection, may be high
risk for HIV infection. On 25th May 2005
- The current law acts to reinforce
homophobic oppression, bullying and abuse of same sex attracted youth, denying them deserved peer support and
acceptance. All youth deserve the same level of legal protection and
community support to have the best chance of living healthy, loving and
productive lives as adult citizens.
- Equal age of consent reform is
supported by various eminent community organisations including Brisbane Parents and Friends of
Lesbians and Gays, the Queensland
Association for Healthy Communities and the federally funded Open Doors Youth Service which
specialises in the support of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender
youth.
- As from 1st July 2009, Federal law
amendments will define that “couples are couples” regardless of their
gender in all areas except marriage. Federal agencies will tell young same
sex male couples that they are equal with other couples, while
REFERENCES:
The 1990 PCJC
Report on Reforms in laws Related to Homosexuality is at:
http://www.queerradio.org/PCJC_law_reform_report_October_1990.pdf
The quote
from the Qld Anti-Discrimination Commissioner is from her 15th July 2005 letter
to Attorney-General Rod Welford:
http://www.queerradio.org/AOC150705_ADCQ.htm
The Report
"Sexual Offences Against The Person" published May 1999 by the Model
Criminal Code Officers Committee of the Standing Committee of
Attorneys-General. The pdf of the report is at:
and that
file is found via the Model Criminal Code listing at:
http://www.ag.gov.au/www/agd/agd.nsf/Page/Modelcriminalcode_Chapter5-OffencesAgainstthePerson
The La Trobe
University 2005 Research Report "writing themselves in again: The
2nd national report on the sexual health & well-being of same sex attracted
young people in
http://www.latrobe.edu.au/ssay/assets/downloads/writing_themselves_in_again.pdf
and that
file is found via the list at:
http://www.latrobe.edu.au/ssay/publications.html
More reasons for urgently
enacting a truly equal age of consent in
Recent developments:
October
2008: Qld's "Sodomy Law" was worsened rather
than deleted in October 2008
An October 2008 amendment to
the Criminal Code Sections 208 and 209 had actually worsened the effect of
the "sodomy law". Section 209 - attempting to engage in
sodomy - was deleted and the wording was incorporated into Section 208,
which meant that the penalty for attempting sodomy had been doubled from a
maximum of 7 to 14 years.
Attorney-General Kerry Shine
actually reviewed the Sodomy Law element of the Criminal Code and yet decided
to make it worse, when he was personally well aware that the Queensland
Anti-Discrimination Commissioner had recommended 3 years earlier that it
be deleted altogether and she had reminded him, in person, just a year
earlier that she was definitely serious about the need for that reform.
The Criminal Code and Other
Acts Amendment Act 2008 Act No. 55 of 2008 (assented to 23rd October
2008):
http://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/ACTS/2008/08AC055.pdf
The current version of the
Qld Criminal Code is at:
http://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/CURRENT/C/CriminCode.pdf
AUDIO INTERVIEWS:
· 14th Feb 2005 – approx 5:45pm, The ABC’s
national youth radio network Triple-J aired a 6 minute interview
(128kps stereo mp3 6mb) on the need for reform of the Queensland Sodomy
Law. Steve
Cannane, Sydney-based presenter of the
“Hack” program,
spoke by phone earlier in the day with John Frame from the ABC’s
· 20th June 2005 9:20am, ABC
612 Local Radio: Steve Austin interviewed John
Frame for 8 minutes (64kps mono mp3 3mb)
regarding the need for Sodomy Law Reform - including
mention of the Parliamentary E-petition and the fact that the Northern
Territory Labor Government had been returned in the preceding weekend's
election with a greatly increased majority (and they had reformed their Sodomy
Law in the most recent term of office). The ABC received no calls at all in
regard to the interview - a sign that the thinking public is very comfortable
with the need for reform.
· 27th Feb 2009 A recent Queensland
Pride Magazine online article inspired ABC Toowong journalist Kaitlyn Sawrey to
record an interview at my home for use as a discussion topic on Triple-J's "The Hack" program. That same night they ran the topic
as the show's "Shake Up" panel discussion - here's a link to an mp3
of that segment 11
minutes 38 seconds (64kps mono mp3, 5.4mb) I'm extremely glad that Tommy
Murphy (stageplay writer/director of Tim Conigrave's "Holding The
Man") was on the panel. Tommy makes very good sense - making up for the
regressive comments by conservative christian gay journo John Heard.
VIDEO
INTERVIEW:
View
YouTube video of John Frame as a
guest speaker of the Queensland Association
for Healthy Communities at their 4th June 2008 Pride Campaign launch at
their
Why is John Frame
personally interested in this issue?
I’m
53 years old, contentedly gay, and I’ve spent fully fifteen years (1993 to
2008) actively involved in community support through the
Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender specific Queer Radio program on
There
was notable improvement in November 1990 when law reform was enacted to
“decriminalise” (i.e. rather than legitimise) sex between men. However, because
the Goss Labor Government was not brave enough to follow their Parliamentary
Committee’s specific recommendation for true equity at age 16, Queensland’s
same sex attracted youth aged 16 and 17 continue to remain exposed to active
discrimination and oppression, to a lack of inclusion, and to a
life-threatening lack of safe sex education.
In
September 2008 mainstream media reported a sudden staggeringly high incidence
of suicide in rural
Queensland's new
Premier, Anna Bligh, declares “no plans to consider” Equal Age Of Consent
Reform (ABC612 local radio 26th
Oct ’07 and again 30th November '07)
On
26th October 2007 Premier Anna Bligh spent just seven seconds
on ABC612’s “Madonna King” program dismissing a 19 year old gay
Peter of Taringa was told
by the show’s producer that he had to keep his question to the Premier
succinct, so he asked:
“I was wondering when the
Queensland Government was going to change the age of consent laws between
differing sexual activities from 18 for anal intercourse to 16 to be in line
with vaginal intercourse?
Premier Anna Bligh’s
response was:
“Peter, our Government has
no plans to consider that issue. So I guess that the answer to your question is
that there is no time frame because we have no plans in relation to that.”
When I heard this I immediately phoned the ABC
in the hope of asking Premier Bligh for exact reasons why her Government is not
considering this reform, but I was told that they do not allow callers to ask
questions on matters which had “already been dealt with”. I then sent an
email to Premier Bligh expressing my disappointment at her display
of indifference, and also posing the two questions that she needs to answer in
detail. Her 5th
December 2007 reply was authored by her Deputy Chief of Staff and
continued the "no plans for reform" mantra, without even mentioning
the two questions for which I had specifically requested answers.
On 30th November 2007
(click for more details plus link to mp3) I tried phoning in an
HIV-related equal age of consent question for Premier Bligh during the Madonna
King show – but sadly received a response which was no more satisfactory than
Peter's. I believe that Premier Anna
Bligh is either feigning or proving her ignorance of the real matters that are
at stake with this reform, and that as the mother of a young teenage son it is
vital for her to recognise that the current law presents a real potential risk
to the health and welfare of her very own family.
Since
early 2000, when I started to actively pursue this reform, the Premier and
various Attorneys-General have all either refused or failed to meet with a
representative group in order to discuss the matter. So I decided to bring the
people to Parliament via the medium of
DVD-Video (with transcripts and audio on an accompanying CD-ROM).
I
produced the project between February and May 2007 and during June the DVD-Video and CD-ROM package entitled “6 Statements of Support for Equal Age
Of Consent Reform in Queensland” was sent
to each individual
Premier
Peter Beattie’s written response was that he is continuing to leave the
decision on this matter with the Attorney-General (despite Mr. Beattie’s personal 1990 statement that he supported an
equal age of consent).
The
Attorney-General’s 22nd June 2007 response merely re-affirmed the Beattie
Government’s ongoing refusal to make any commitment to this reform (while offering no justification for this
decision).
The June 2007
edition of
(click
the image for full text plus link to a full size jpg of the article)
The
CD-ROM contains audio versions of the statements, transcripts and also selected
relevant documents (including Queensland Anti-Discrimination Commissioner Susan Booth’s 15th July 2005 letter to
Attorney-General Rod Welford).
You
are welcome to watch the YouTube copies of these videos as linked below. Transcripts
for each speaker are also linked as htm files:
(1)
Susan Booth,
Commissioner, Anti-Discrimination Commission
(2)
Paul Martin,
(3)
Shelley Argent,
President,
(4)
Rodney Goodbun,
Representative, Action Reform Change
(5)
Felix Kellett, anchor
presenter of Queer Radio on 4ZZZ fm 102.1. Recorded 10th March 2007.
(9:41) Read
transcript.
(6)
Tim Klein,
Psychologist and Psychotherapist. Recorded 17th April 2007.
(9:18) Read transcript.
There are also valuable
references in a January
1991 report from the Australian
Institute of Criminology on Homosexual Law Reform in
http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi/ti29.pdf.
Report 29 was authored by Melissa Bull, Susan Pinto and Paul
Wilson (Professor Paul Wilson is
currently Director of the Centre for Applied Psychology and Criminology at Bond
University, Gold Coast, Queensland) The authors quote professionals who
wrote in 1990 to Queensland Premier Wayne Goss stating that it is imperative
that age of consent should be gender neutral, and that there be no distinction
made in the legality of any consenting sexual activity. The following is a complete excerpt from page 9:
“Age of
Consent
There should be no difference
in the 'Age of Consent' for males and females in relation to heterosexual or
homosexual acts. The
Queensland Psychologists for Social Justice indicated in their submission to
the Parliamentary Criminal Justice Committee (Gallois, North & Raphael
1990) that research and clinical experience support the proposition that young
males start sexual activity earlier and are more likely to have more sexual
partners than girls at any given age through the teenage years.
Thus to legislate differently on the 'Age of Consent' for
homosexual acts ignores the realities of sexual expression and sexual identity
formation. In a letter to the Premier of Queensland, the Honourable Wayne Goss,
several
...that any distinction made in age of consent for homosexual
activity and the age of consent for heterosexual activities would be
discriminatory and prejudicial...The dangers exist in that any differentiation,
in age of consent....further reinforces negative social constructions and public
opinion. Such legislative differentiation will ensure that young homosexuals in
The recommendations regarding 'Age of Consent' finally
proposed by the Queensland Parliamentary Criminal Justice Committee concur with
these views.”
30th November
2006 Courier Mail article by
feature writer Jane Fynes-Clinton. In this detailed and
concise feature, especially related to World AIDS Day, Jane connects many of the more important issues related to Queensland’s
unequal age of consent – including that the current law places youth at
increased risk of HIV infection. She personalises the story with bookended
references to Keith Phillips, an openly gay year 10 student at Alexandra Hills
State High in Brisbane.
June 2006 In a two page briefing paper for members of the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO),
the group gives a clear statement of how age of consent laws apply across
Australia, and an equally clear condemnation of Queensland's unequal age of
consent: http://www.afao.org.au/library_docs/policy/Age_of_consent_briefing_paperJune06.pdf
Evidence In Support of an Equal Age Of Consent:
This detailed
paper entitled “AGE OF CONSENT FOR SEXUAL ACTIVITY - Findings from the
scientific literature to support equality of age of consent for same-sex and
different-sex sexual behaviours” was prepared in May 2001 for the Committee on Gay and Lesbian Law
Reform (W.A.) by Dr Vivienne Cass, Ph.D., M.Psych., B.Psych., Teach.Cert. www.queerradio.org/Age_of_Consent_for_sexual_activity.pdf (27k file)
Source:
From the website of West Australia’s Gay And Lesbian Equality (
GALE) www.galewa.asn.au/.
In March 2002
the age of consent in
The Premier and the Attorney-General
persist in offering, without qualification, the following inadequate statement
to justify their ongoing inaction on reform. They state that: “The issue of the age of
consent is a vexed one and one in which there are deeply held and opposing
views.”
Both the Premier and the Attorney-General
have refused to meet with a representative community group to discuss the need
for an equal age of consent.
For anyone
who might be completely unfamiliar with the story behind the call for reform of
In my home
state of
Even though
the law applies to "any person" (both men and women) it is clear that
the intent of the 1990 law was to discourage young men from doing male to male
sex. It was passed in the same Bill which otherwise "decriminalised"
sex between men. The lawmakers deliberately used the term
"decriminalised" in the legislation to make it very clear that the
administration was not inferring any approval of homosexual activity just
because they happened to be changing the law. The Goss Labor government of the
time had the clear numbers to force any law through, but the Sodomy Law was
included in order to placate its own gay-hating conservative Members. All
debate in Parliament was about whether homosexual law reform should happen at
all. In fact the Sodomy Law has never been debated in Parliament, nor has it
ever been officially explained to the public.
I got
involved in seeking sodomy law reform when, on 22nd February 2000, our only
state-wide newspaper (The Courier Mail) published a full page article headed
"Reasonable Age - Will lowering the age of consent for homosexual sex open
the floodgates to paedophilia?" The article's author clearly thought the
answer was "YES!". She dangerously misrepresented the truth of the
law by suggesting that ALL male to male sex was illegal under 18 years. I
phoned and wrote to the paper and they refused to print a correction or
retraction. When I spoke with other people about this I was shocked to find
that about 80% (whether straight or gay) did not understand the law.
Since 2000
I've had a constant stream of correspondence and phone calls with our state
government's Premier and several Attorneys-General, I've organised rallies and
meetings, written articles and done radio interviews. 740 citizens joined a
Parliamentary E-petition and our Anti-Discrimination Commissioner even wrote
stating that the law should be reformed. All this has been to no avail. The
Premier simply refuses to budge on reform - even though former Premier Peter
Beattie actually Chaired the 1990 all-party Parliamentary Committee which
Reported on homosexual law reform. In that Report Mr Beattie declared his
personal support for the majority Recommendation to enact an equal age of
consent.
A
On 22nd
March 2006 an Official
Ministerial Response was posted by
Queensland Attorney General Linda Lavarch. The Attorney General’s entirely
unsatisfactory response acknowledges the negative aspects of the current law,
but she advises that the Government will not enact reform because “The
issue of the age of consent is a vexed one and one in which there are deeply
held and opposing views.” It seems clear from this statement that the Beattie Government
cares more about losing votes than it cares about the health and well-being of
youth.
N.B:
In preceding
weeks the Courier Mail had reported that Peter Beattie was actively negotiating
with the conservative religious Family First Party to secure preference deals
for the upcoming state election (hoping to split the conservative vote).
Successive polls had shown the Nationals to be almost certain to win at the
next election. Nationals Leader Lawrence Springborg has
clearly stated that they will not support an equal age of consent.
On 15th July
2005
The Commissioner concludes by stating that “It is now imperative that
(click here to read the full text of the
Commissioner’s letter, including links to jpg scanned images)
Queensland’s age of consent is 16, but anal intercourse
(“sodomy”) involving any person aged under 18 is a criminal offence under the
"sodomy law" (Sections 208 of the Criminal Code
1899) - punishable with up to 14
years imprisonment.
Definition of “sodomy”: "Under
How is the Sodomy Law prosecuted in
Guidelines
for the judiciary are contained in the QUEENSLAND SUPREME AND DISTRICT COURTS
BENCHBOOK on pages 148, 149 and 150. It
is important to note that
Why the “sodomy law”
must be removed urgently:
(1) Unprotected anal intercourse is a very high risk sexual
activity for HIV/AIDS and for other sexually transmitted infections, however the
Sodomy Law exposes all 16 and 17 year olds to high risk by impeding their
access to safe-sex education regarding anal intercourse. As shown further
below, expert opinion is that a Sodomy Law cannot limit sexual behaviour - it
only serves to limit safe-sex education.
(2) Though the same law applies to both women
and men, it's definitely men who are being specifically targeted for
discrimination. This is due to the commonly held misconception that all gay or
bisexual men must want to do anal intercourse because it is seen as a
definitive "homosexual" activity. However anal intercourse is also a
heterosexual activity and is chosen by up to 4% of all 16 and 17 year old
heterosexual youth, for a variety of reasons including minimal risk of pregnancy
and leaving the hymen intact (preserving vaginal virginity), - but tragically
at their age they are not getting the information that unprotected anal
intercourse is high risk for HIV and other STI's.
(3) The vast majority of Queenslanders
misinterpret the law as meaning that 16 and 17 year old men can’t legally do any
sexual act with another man, when in fact it's just that one activity - anal
intercourse - which is not legal until they are 18. These men should at least
be empowered with sexual health education regarding other activities that are
perfectly legal for them and which are inherently low risk for HIV (for example
oral sex and mutual masturbation).
As a direct result of
the Sodomy Law, dangerously little
acceptance and support is offered to men aged 16 and 17 who might be gay or
bisexual - because they're
considered likely to want to do anal intercourse, and that's currently a
criminal activity at their age in Queensland. Therefore: They are not included
in sex education or sexual health information that is relevant to their sexual
orientation. They miss out on being accepted and supported by their peers at a
crucial age for establishing self-esteem. They are much less likely to be
accepted by their families and that is why up to a third of all our street kids
are gay. Tragically, they also run a much increased risk of suicide compared to
their heterosexual peers.
It is a matter of
extreme urgency that the
Paul Martin, Manager of the Queensland AIDS Council (now the
Queensland Association for Healthy Communities) issued a 3rd February
2005 press release declaring that "The
current law causes confusion amongst many in the community who believe that all
sex between men is illegal before the age of 18" said Paul R Martin of the
Queensland AIDS Council. "We are concerned that young people who are
sexually active are reluctant to come forward to access sexual health services
and receive sex & relationships education for fear of being prosecuted".
Mr Martin went on to say "There is no legitimate reason why the age at
which young men and women can have vaginal sex, which may result in child
birth, should be any different from the age at which people can legally have
anal sex. The current law does nothing to protect young people, on the contrary
it criminalises young people who choose to have anal sex".
On
Mr Beattie was Chairman of
the Parliamentary Criminal Justice Committee (PCJC) which conducted community
consultation and delivered a detailed Report to Parliament in October 1990. In
the PCJC Report he clearly declares his personal support
for the Committee’s first 8 recommendations, of which “RECOMMENDATION 7” is “THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS THAT THE AGE OF CONSENT FOR HOMOSEXUAL ACTS IN
ACCORDANCE WITH THE PRINCIPLES OF SEXUAL EQUALITY AND ANTI-DISCRIMINATION BE
THE SAME FOR MALES AS IT IS FOR FEMALES, IRRESPECTIVE OF WHETHER THE SEXUAL ACT
IS HETEROSEXUAL OR HOMOSEXUAL.” There is no
official record of the reason why, but this recommendation was ignored in the
Bill which was introduced to Parliament
in November 1990 - a Bill which included a higher age for anal
intercourse - a Sodomy Law.
Premier
Beattie also knew that the Sodomy Law directly placed 16 and 17 year olds at
increased risk of HIV by impeding safe sex information.
His PCJC Report states on page
49:
"The Committee was of the
view that the professional advice put before it concludes the following:-
1. Sexual orientation is most
likely determined early and while the age is not determinable it is most likely
before puberty.
2. Once sexual orientation is
determined it is very difficult if not impossible to change.
3. The law regardless of whether
it makes homosexual sex between consenting males in private legal or not has
little impact or no impact on the practice of homosexuality in private. Its
impact is in relation to whether safe sex is practiced and whether the
community is susceptible to particular AIDS education programs.
4. The evidence seems to suggest
that homosexual orientation is not a matter over which homosexuals have any
control in the same way heterosexuals have no control over their sexual
orientation."
The
Queensland Government continues to advise that it does not have any plans to
change the existing legislation.
"I think the Sodomy Law really sucks, so what can I do?"
It will be
of immense value for you to write your own letter to The Premier and to the
Attorney- General (see contact details below) with a copy to your local Member of
Parliament. Tell them how you feel about the inequity inherent in the Sodomy
Law (Sections 208 & 209 of the Criminal Code) and how it adversely affects
your life or that of your family and friends. Ask for prompt action on reform.
Be sure to give your name and address so they know that your letter is genuine
and so they can send you a reply. Please
consider sending me a copy. Post or email the Premier and Attorney-General
at:
·
Hon. Anna Bligh MP, Premier of
P0 Box
Email ThePremier@premiers.qld.gov.au
·
GPO
Email Attorney@ministerial.qld.gov.au
Contact details for all
current
Recent media coverage
etc:
- 20th June 2005
9:20am, ABC 612 Local Radio: Steve
Austin interviewed
John Frame for 8 minutes regarding the need for Sodomy Law Reform -
including mention of the Parliamentary E-petition and the fact that the
Northern Territory Labor Government had been returned in the preceding
weekend's election with a greatly increased majority (and they had
reformed their Sodomy Law in the most recent term of office). The ABC
received no calls at all in regard to the interview - a sign that the
thinking public is very comfortable with the need for reform.
- 16th Feb 2005 The Queer Radio program on 4ZZZ Brisbane
airs over 30 minutes of voxpops recorded at the 14th February
Love In For Love Equality – we heard from representatives of the Queensland AIDS Council, Brisbane Parents Family &
Friends of Lesbians And Gays, University of
Queensland Sexuality Collective, University of Southern Queensland
queer student group “USQ-Plus”,
Brisbane LGBT youth service “Open
Doors” and Toowoomba’s LGBT social group “The Silver Wheat Society”.
- 14th Feb 2005 – approx 5:45pm The
ABC’s national youth radio network Triple-J aired a 6 minute
interview (128kps stereo mp3 6mb) on the need for reform of the
CLICK HERE for PRESS RELEASE re success of Love In For Love Equality
(
A
fine article titled “Sodomy” by Rodney Polkinghorne was printed in the
September 2003 “Queer Edition” of Semper Floreat – the monthly magazine
published by the
On
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=3094
My
comments were posted under the tag EqualRightsActivist:
Rose
raises many good points - regardless of any nit-picking in regard to her
grammar. It is especially important that she points out that there should be no
difference in the protection and support afforded to youth of any gender
(male/female/intergender) at the age of consent. Anyone with an honest and open
mind and with even a smidgen of life experience must know that same gender
attraction is
The term "homosexual lifestyle" is as uselessly definitive as "religious
fanatic" - but one certainly makes a choice when embracing extremes of
fashion or displaying wanton bigotry.
The legal age of consent should be the benchmark for all youth to have access
to all information and support that they might reasonably need in order to
protect their sexual health as well as their emotional health. All youth should
have equal support and protection at the same age. In
Attorney General Rod Welford will tell you that the Sodomy Law is not
discriminatory, because it applies to all persons, whether they are male or
female – but the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Commissioner says that it is
equally wrong that the law discriminates against 16 and 17 year olds.
Unfortunately she cannot force reform of State laws and the Beattie Government
seems content to let youth remain at risk while they maintain a vote-winning
veneer of Bjelke-Petersen style conservatism
Posted
by EqualRightsActivist,
Linked to
the buttons below are: Details
of the current
From the
website of Queer Radio, the gay &
lesbian Community Radio program on 4ZZZ fm102.1 in
Last
updated 27th April 2009