"It's a word that has been demonised, as a weapon to promote intolerance against gay people." What did the State Government say about it? "Well the word sodomy promotes stigma, prejudice and discrimination and society has moved on and recognised that all people are worthy of respect, regardless of what they may or may not do legally in the privacy of their own bedroom," Brisbane LGBTIQ Action Group convenor Phil Browne told ABC News. His family escapes and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed. "They called to Lot: 'Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them'." (Genesis 19:5 New International Version) This is the specific verse which the Oxford Dictionary says linked the idea of Sodom with homosexual rape: But when the other townsmen find out about this, they demand that Lot allow them to be raped. When they arrive, they are offered hospitality by Abraham's nephew Lot. Two angels are then sent to Sodom to investigate. God tells Abraham that he will spare the "wicked" city of Sodom if he can find just 10 righteous people in it.
The word "sodomy" originates from the Old Testament specifically, the story in Genesis of Lot and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. We spoke to Brisbane LGBTIQ Action Group convenor Phil Browne about its impact. So why is the word sodomy offensive to the gay community? Meanwhile, LNP MP George Christensen has said the change will mean 50-year-old men can have sex with 16-year-old boys. The word sodomy has been removed from Queensland's Criminal Code, as part of a new law which allows 16-year-olds to engage in anal sex.