NZ First will consider whether to propose a law change outlawing the homosexual panic defence, according to leader Winston Peters. Peters, who has been outspoken in his opinions over the David McNee trial, says he recognizes this case is not isolated. A defence like provocation should be extremely rare, he says, but in case after case it continues to stand up if a homosexual is involved. When asked by Queer Nation's Robyn Paterson why he was interested in the case, seeing as he is not known as one of Parliament's most gay-friendly MPs, Peters responded: "One's political responsibility is pretty clear. I mean, I've never gone out and been anti or pro anybody in particular, other than to say I think that if you've got a society in which the rules are the same for everybody, then whatever people's different and varying circumstances are, they'll get the same treatment basically."
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Friday, 15th October 2004 - 12:00pm