03/25/2002 "DEMOCRATS MOVE ON GAY HATE LEGISLATION"

DEMOCRATS MOVE ON GAY HATE LEGISLATION
Senator Brian Greig - Australian Democrats (MEDIA RELEASE)
Law & Justice Spokesperson

The Australian Democrats have announced Federal legislation to outlaw vilification and incitement to hatred of people, based on sexuality.

Democrats' Law and Justice spokesperson, Senator Brian Greig, says the proposed Bill is in response to the current climate of homophobia around the nation and which had resulted from Senator Heffernan's recent outburst against Justice Kirby.

"Anti-gay rhetoric from people in public positions, and in particular anti-gay rhetoric that equates, implies or confuses paedophilia with homosexuality, raises the temperature of homophobia in this nation," Senator Greig said.

Senator Greig said the existing Federal laws that outlawed vilification on grounds of race and religion should be expanded to include sexuality.

"Homophobia is just sexual racism," Senator Greig said. "It's language, abuse and arguments designed to denigrate and lower the standing of gay and lesbian people with damaging myths and misinformation.

"This can create an environment in which fear and anxiety amongst gay and lesbian people becomes very real, and gives licence to those who would seek to express their loathing or hatred of homosexual people through harassment or violence," Senator Greig said.

Senator Greig said both major parties had made strong statements opposing discrimination and vilification of homosexual people in recent days, but neither had proposed or supported legislation to secure this.

"If the Government and Opposition are sincere in their condemnation of homosexual vilification, the litmus test for this claim will be the swift passage of this legislation," Senator Greig said.

The Bill is based on the model already in operation in New South Wales and would co-exist with the current federal Racial Hatred Act 1995.

"This is not about preventing freedom of speech, it's about preventing freedom of hate-speech. Criminal penalties must apply to the worst excesses of anti-gay hatred," Senator Greig said.