‘Funny signatures’ taken off petition

Press, 19 September 1985, Page 6

‘Funny signatures’ taken off petition

PA Wellington More than 400 signatures, including those of “Adolf Hitler” and “Yogi Bear,” have been removed from the petition opposing the Homosexual Law Reform Bill.

One of the petition organisers, Mr Graeme Lee, said yesterday that the petition lists had been scrutinised and obvious duplications and errors removed. The minor number of those removed in no way diminished the voice of opposition to

the bill. His office said later that 418 “funny signatures” including those signing themselves as Adolf Hitler and Yogi Bear (a multiple entry) had been removed from the list when checks were made on the 800,000-signature petition.

The petition, which is due to be formally presented to Parliament on Tuesday, opposes legislation aiming to decriminalise consenting sexual activity for adult males over the age of 16. Members of Parliament will

have a free vote when the bill comes back before the House after being considered at a select committee. Mr Lee yesterday gave an electorate breakdown of petition signatures, and warned that members who ignored them did so at their own peril. The breakdown of figures showed some electorates to have many thousands of people opposed to the bill, although others, such as Pencarrow and Manawatu, recorded only 530 and 859 respectively. Breakdown, page 37