Parliament will tomorrow begin debating a bill which seeks to strike 'gay panic' off the law books as a legitimate way to escape a murder verdict, and which is considered likely to get broad across-party support. The government has placed the bill first up on the order paper for the week's parliamentary business, meaning its first reading should commence mid- tomorrow afternoon, possibly as early as 3.15pm. Justice Minister Simon Power introduced the bill hard on the heels of a similar private member's bill sponsored by opposition MP Lianne Dalziel. Both bills addressed a legal iniquity rooted in the days when a murder verdict meant a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment - and before that the now-abolished death sentence - and was the only outcome of being found guilty of killing someone. Provocation was considered to be a valid mitigating factor in some circumstances, such as when an emotionally or physically battered partner struck back, leading to a lesser verdict of manslaughter. Its practical courtroom use in cases where a gay man was killed saw defendants successfully claiming that their victim's sexuality was enough to provoke the killing and generally saw the victim's character publicly degraded by insinuation and inference. After Power kicks off the first reading it is likely that Dalziel and gay MP Charles Chauvel will lead the opposition response but there is not expected to be any serious objection from any quarter. Gay Greens MP Kevin Hague, who has long anticipated the law change, says he expects all parties will vote for the bill.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 17th August 2009 - 3:59pm