Petition · Ministry of Justice
Legislate to explicitly ban the Portsmouth Defence
Closed
35 signatures
What the petition asks
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.
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.
Timeline
| 16 Sep 2025 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 16 Mar 2026 | Closed to new signatures |
Key facts
Signatures
35
Status
Closed
Department
Ministry of Justice
Opened
16 Sep 2025
Closed
16 Mar 2026
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 25 Aug 2026.