PETITIONClosedPetition · petition.parliament.uk
Legislate to explicitly ban the Portsmouth Defence
We urge Parliament to formally abolish the homophobic Portsmouth Defence, which allowed offenders to justify violence on the basis of same sex sexual advances. This undermines the Equality Act and put LGBTQ+ lives at risk. We call for urgent legislative reform to formally ban this defence.
Last fetched 03 May 2026 · petition.parliament.uk
Signatures
35
signatures
Government response threshold (10,000) · 35/10,000
Debate threshold (100,000) · 35/100,000
Background
We believe this defence treated LGBTQ+ lives as less valuable. No one’s identity should ever justify violence. This defence has no place in a modern legal system. It must be clearly banned now.