Gay panic defense states

To view legislation related to LGBTQ+ panic defenses (also known as "gay panic defenses"), click on a location on the map. The so-called "gay and trans panic" defenses are legal strategies which, according to the American Bar Association , "seek to partially or completely excuse crimes such as murder and assault on the grounds that the victim's sexual orientation or gender identity is to blame for the defendant's violent reaction. These defenses are based in irrational fears and prejudice toward LGBTQ people, and they imply that violence against LGBTQ people is acceptable or understandable under certain conditions. The American Bar Association issued a unanimous resolution in calling on "federal, tribal, state, local, and territorial governments" to prohibit the use of this defense, but many states still permit this practice, as shown in the map below.

The gay panic defense or homosexual advance defense is a victim blaming strategy of legal defense, which refers to a situation in which a heterosexual individual charged with a violent crime against a same-sex attracted individual claims they lost control and reacted violently because of an unwanted sexual advance that was made upon them. [1] A defendant will use available legal defenses. The act states that, generally, evidence relating to the discovery of, knowledge about, or potential disclosure of the victim's actual or perceived gender, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation, including under circumstances in which the victim made an unwanted, nonforcible romantic or sexual advance toward the defendant or if the defendant and victim are or have been involved in an intimate relationship, is irrelevant in a criminal case and does not constitute sudden heat of passion in a criminal case. The act creates a protective hearing if a party claims that such evidence is relevant and wants to use it in a criminal case. Moreno , Sen.

Research by the Williams Institute shows that "no state recognizes gay and trans panic defenses as freestanding defenses under their respective penal codes," but defendants have used panic defenses in conjunction with other defense strategies to attempt to reduce the severity of their charges or sentencing. Since then, the District of Columbia and the states of California, Illinois, Rhode Island, Nevada, Connecticut, Maine, Hawaii, New York, New Jersey, Washington, Colorado, Virginia, Vermont, Oregon, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New Hampshire, and Delaware have banned such defenses. Currently, Arizona and Florida have pending legislation. It is not a freestanding defense to criminal liability.

In , all states were pressured to do away with the outdated law; however, a majority of states refused to remove the bigoted legal strategy. As of a report in , thirty states and five territories still uphold the Gay/Trans Panic defense laws, which include places like Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, Massachusetts, and even Pennsylvania. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, signed House Bill into law Tuesday. Michigan is now the 20th state to prohibit this type of defense , according to Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ think tank.