*Age Of Consent & Legal Sexual Activity for the State of Queensland, Australia - A campaign to remove our Sodomy Law (which was enacted in 1990).

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27^th February 2005 Brisbane’s monthly LGBT street press Queensland Pride publishes an article in their March edition reporting on the 14^th February “Love In For Love Equality”.

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 as per  http://queenslandpride.com.au/index/content/view/91/1/

Love-In starts campaign for equality

Written by QP news team

Sunday, 27 February 2005

IT was Valentine's Eve and, on a warm and windy Sunday afternoon, stalwart LGBT community activists joined with youth in the safe and spectacular surrounds of New Farm Park's Rose Gardens to celebrate love and call for an equal age of consent under Queensland Law.

A minibus full of young people from rural Toowoomba (USQ-Plus and Silver Wheat Society) complemented a strong turnout by local Brisbane youth associated with groups such as Open Doors (Fortitude Valley) and the University of Queensland. 

Men and women from PFLAG, Queensland AIDS Council and the Gay & Lesbian Welfare Association were also there to prove solidarity in support of equality for youth, through reform of the Queensland Sodomy Law.
The Love-In For Love Equality also officially launched an important "e-petition" that will be open for six months on the Queensland Parliament's own website.

All Queensland citizens are encouraged to sign. Simply perform a web search for "Queensland petitions" to view the list of current e-petitions.

The e-petition calls on MPs to apply the age of consent equally to all Queensland youth to ensure sexually active people between 16-18 years of age are "able to receive advice and support in relation to a range of sexual activities and undertake consenting sexual activity without fear of legal penalties".

Meanwhile the campaign for an equal age of consent received an indirect boost from the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations, which last month condemned the West Australian Opposition's plan to raise the age of consent for gay men in that state.

"Legally sanctioned discrimination against young same-sex attracted men, such as the unequal age of consent, impedes health services provision and can have a range of negative health consequences," said AFAO president Don Baxter.

"The threat of legal penalties for themselves and their sexual partners may inhibit young sexually active men from accessing vital health and support services such as counselling, testing and treatment for HIV and other STDs."

He said a key element of the National AIDS Strategy was to create the right 'enabling environment' for people at risk to access information and services, and that criminalisation of gay sexual behaviour was completely contrary to that outcome.

Further activities in support of an equal age of consent in Queensland will be planned later in 2005.

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