Meshell Ndegeocello – Leviticus Faggot
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Yeah yeah yeah. Leviticus and all that shit.
If any one lie with a man as with a woman, both have committed an abomination: let them be put to death. Their blood be upon them.
Leaving aside the fact that the passage has been subject to quite different interpretations, the most accepted appears to be encapsulated in the title of a song the Queensland-based neo-Nazi band ‘Open Season’ will be performing in Melbourne on September 25: ‘Kill the Poofs’.
One indication of the general shift in social attitudes towards homosexuality in Australia is the fact that such invocations to (deadly) violence, discipline and punishment are no longer enshrined in law; in fact — or rather, in theory — they actually run counter to anti-vilification legislation. Beyond this, such views are repudiated by a large majority, receive no (or very little) support in major social institutions, and are typically regarded as simply barbaric (as well as er, crackpot). On the other hand, full equality before the law remains somewhat elusive, and recent attempts to bring about legislative change have met with considerable opposition.
- See also : Coming Forward – The underreporting of heterosexist violence and same sex partner abuse in Victoria, William Leonard, Anne Mitchell, Sunil Patel, Christopher Fox, Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS), 2008 (PDF).
In this context, the decision by the Liberal National Party in Queensland to preference Family First ahead of every other candidate for the Australian Senate is remarkable. The lead candidate for Family First is Wendy Francis. Wendy has stated that “Children in homosexual relationships are subject to emotional abuse and legitimising gay marriage is like legalising child abuse” (on Twitter), and later compared a so-called “parentless” generation with the “stolen generations” — a highly questionable framework in which to place such family arrangements (to put it mildly).
In 2004, Victorian ALP preferences ensured Family First Senator Steve Fielding was elected to Parliament. In 2010, it may be that the public has the Queensland LNP to thank for the election of another Christian fundamentalist to high office.
See also : Lib holds on to his candidacy, Dan Oakes, The Age, August 10, 2010 (“A COALITION candidate for an ultra-marginal seat has retained his preselection despite being accused of anti-Semitism, homophobia and misogyny.”) | One Nation in gay vilification complaint, AAP, August 9, 2010 (“Gay rights activist Gary Burns has lodged an anti-discrimination complaint against a One Nation candidate in the federal election.”) | One Nation member ‘promoting gay bashing’, SBS, August 9, 2010 (“The incident began when 30-year old computer programmer Nicholas Perkins criticised Ms Francis’ comments on homosexuality via [Twitter]”).
