Archbishop wants end to ‘gay panic’ defence

Brisbane’s Anglican Archbishop is calling for Queensland’s controversial “gay panic” homicide defence to be scrapped. Speaking after Easter mass, Archbishop Phillip Aspinall said he supported calls for the Homosexual Advance Defence to be removed from common law.

“I think Father Paul Kelly is on the right track, well and truly,” Dr Aspinall said.

“I don’t think it’s reasonable to murder someone who approaches you sexually. Violence is never a constructive response.”

Dr Aspinall also appealed to those who resorted to violence at recent anti-Islam rallies, as well as a individuals behind an apparent spate of church vandalism in Melbourne.

“Whenever people feel threatened, there is a natural human tendency to react out of fear,” he said.

“That’s exactly what we have to resist.”

Scores of worshippers congregated at Brisbane’s St John’s Cathedral to mark the most important date on the Christian calendar.

Incense mingled in the warm Queensland air as Dr Aspinall urged followers to honour the spirit of resurrection in their everyday lives.

“When mistakes we make bring things off the rails and it looks like were going to land in a mess of guilt and shame — there is life beyond all that,” Dr Aspinall said.

AAP