The Gay/Trans Panic Defense: What It is, and How to End It

Contents:

• THE GAY/TRANS PANIC DEFENSE: WHAT IT IS, AND HOW TO END IT
• GAY/TRANS PANIC DEFENSE BANS
• BEG AAID OF A GAY OR TRANS PERSON IS STILL A VALID MURR DEFENSE MOST OF THE US
• BANNG THE USE OF GAY AND TRANS PANIC DEFENS
• LAWMAKERS TRODUCE BILL BANNG 'GAY AND TRANS PANIC FENSE'
• SELF-DEFENSE EXPERTS SUGGT THE 5 STRATEGI FOR AVOIDG OR SURVIVG A GAY BASHG
• WHEN IS "GAY PANIC" ACCEPTED? EXPLORG JUROR CHARACTERISTICS AND CASE TYPE AS PREDICTORS OF A SUCCSFUL GAY PANIC DEFENSE
• 'GAY PANIC' FENSE STILL ED VLENCE S MAY BE BANNED BY NEW FERAL BILL
• GAY RIGHTS VS. FREE SPEECHSUPREME COURT BACKS WEB DIGNER OPPOSED TO SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

THE GAY/TRANS PANIC DEFENSE: WHAT IT IS, AND HOW TO END IT

Over the urse of lbian, gay, or bisexual people's lifetim, one five will experience hate crim, and one four transgenr people will as dividuals at the tersectn of homophobia, transphobia, and racism, face worse statistics.

GAY/TRANS PANIC DEFENSE BANS

Even though the fendants were crimals who equented that area of highway to rob drivers, and tentnally targeted homosexual victims, the fendants were nvicted of manslghter rather than first-gree murr.

Help to end this discrimatn by supportg legislative bans on the gay/trans panic steps you n, and should, take are as follows:Contact legislators and ernors stat currently tryg to ban the gay/trans panic fense. Be sure to reach out to feral legislators as an advote stat where there is currently no proposed gay/trans panic ban your own policians know that equaly unr the law should apply to the victims of hate crim as well.

The so-lled "gay and trans panic" fens are legal strategi which, acrdg to the Amerin Bar Associatn, "seek to partially or pletely exce crim such as murr and asslt on the grounds that the victim's sexual orientatn or genr inty is to blame for the fendant's vlent reactn. " Rearch by the Williams Instute shows that "no state regniz gay and trans panic fens as etandg fens unr their rpective penal s, " but fendants have ed panic fens njunctn wh other fense strategi to attempt to rce the severy of their charg or fens are based irratnal fears and prejudice toward LGBTQ people, and they imply that vlence agast LGBTQ people is acceptable or unrstandable unr certa ndns. 111, 114 (1999) (ncludg that gay, lbian, bisexual, and transgenr victims equently do not report hate crim bee they fear police sensivy and sendary victimizatn by police officers) The Matthew Shepard and Jam Byrd, Jr.

BEG AAID OF A GAY OR TRANS PERSON IS STILL A VALID MURR DEFENSE MOST OF THE US

471, 477 (2008) wh reported urt cisns discsg the gay and trans panic fens are Arizona (2010), California (1967, 2002), Florida (2012), Geia (2001), Kansas (2006), Illois (1972, 1977, 1993, 2000, 2004), Indiana (2001), Iowa (2015), Louisiana (1990), Massachetts (1978, 2005), Michigan (2000), Missouri (1975, 1990, 2000), New Jersey (2004), New York (2012), North Carola (1978), Nebraska (1994), New Jersey (1988), Oh (1988), Pennsylvania (2010), Tennsee (1998, 2009), Texas (2007), Wisns (2001), and Wyomg (1979, 1999).

Joe Kennedy, both Massachetts Democrats, are phg legislatn that would end the e of so-lled “gay panic” and “trans panic” fens feral legislatn, tled Gay and Trans Panic Defense Prohibn Act of 2018, stat that the ntroversial fens “seek to partially or pletely exce crim such as murr and asslt on the grounds that the sexual orientatn or genr inty of the victim is provotn enough for the vlent reactn of the fendant.

”“Legal loophol wrten to our laws that seek to jtify vlent attacks agast our gay, lbian, bisexual, and transgenr neighbors should never have existed the first place, ” he ntued a statement shared wh NBC News. In this stance, their fense failed, and they were both sentenced to life the Gay and Trans Panic Defense Prohibn Act of 2018, Congrs is takg a step the legal muny has been urgg for 2013, for example, the Amerin Bar Associatn passed a rolutn that lled on lawmakers to “take legislative actn to curtail the availabily and effectivens of the ‘gay panic’ and ‘trans panic’ fens. The prospect of beg gay bashed is que sry, but Carolyne Haycraft, the executive director of EMERJ-SafeNow, an anizatn that teach cultural-specific strategi for preventg vlence, says there’s no need to nstantly fear beg attacked and has suggtns for effective gay bashg fense that uld help you learn how to survive a gay bashg.

BANNG THE USE OF GAY AND TRANS PANIC DEFENS

Sce alhol and other dgs are often part of gay and public scen — and n crease aggrsn or crease awarens — Weaver suggts beg extra mdful and thkg ahead if you’re head to a place where dgs will be ed. The LGBTQ+ panic fense, also known as the gay or trans panic fense or the homosexual advance fense, is “a legal strategy that asks a jury to fd that a victim’s sexual orientatn or genr inty/exprsn is to blame for a fendant’s vlent reactn. [20] Meanwhile, at the feral level, the Hoe of Reprentativ and the Senate, two bills lled the Gay and Trans Panic Defense Prohibn Act of 2019 were stgglg to make out of the mtee level unr the Tmp admistratn but, are gag ground unr the current Bin one.

The first of the ”buggery” laws, Article 76, lls for 10 years of imprisonment and hard labor for men nvicted of havg homosexual sex; while the next law, Article 77, lls for seven years for jt attemptg .

LAWMAKERS TRODUCE BILL BANNG 'GAY AND TRANS PANIC FENSE'

[34] Consirg the wispread homophobia prent Jamai, monstrated by the fact that a majory of Jamains believe that homosexualy is immoral, oppose repealg the buggery law, and are agast amendg the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms to protect LGBTQ+ rights, a panic fense ban would likely not end anti-queer vlence.

"Gay panic" refers to a suatn which a heterosexual dividual charged wh a vlent crime agast a homosexual dividual claims they lost ntrol and reacted vlently bee of an unwanted sexual advance that was ma upon them.

SELF-DEFENSE EXPERTS SUGGT THE 5 STRATEGI FOR AVOIDG OR SURVIVG A GAY BASHG

This study utilized 249 mock jurors to asss the effects of se type (asslt or homici) and juror characteristics (homophobia, relig fundamentalism, and polil orientatn) on the succs of the gay panic fense pared wh a ntral provotn fense.

WHEN IS "GAY PANIC" ACCEPTED? EXPLORG JUROR CHARACTERISTICS AND CASE TYPE AS PREDICTORS OF A SUCCSFUL GAY PANIC DEFENSE

This study furthers the unrstandg of cisn makg s volvg the gay panic fense and highlights the need for more rearch to be nducted to help unrstand and bat LGBT (lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr) prejudice the urtroom. "We’re micians and all that kd of stuff, but I’m not a gay guy, " Miller told police later, The At Amerin-Statmen the trial, Miller explaed his actns g a "gay panic" fense that has been ed sce the 1960s more than half of U. However, a jury sentenced Miller to six months jail, 10 years of probatn and 100 hours of muny e of gay panic and "trans panic" fens ntu to be legal 47 stat, although three stat have outlawed sce two Massachetts lawmakers are tryg to prevent the fense om beg ed feral urts wh a bill troduced Congrs last Miller an undated County Sheriff's OfficeSen.

'GAY PANIC' FENSE STILL ED VLENCE S MAY BE BANNED BY NEW FERAL BILL

One of the two men who tied the gay Universy of Wyomg stunt to a fence, after torturg and beatg him, claimed that he was driven to vlence when Shepard allegedly touched him on the was also the se of Angie Zapata, a trans woman who was killed Colorado 2008. Advot say the panic fens are rooted homophobia and trans fens are based on "the ia that vlent vic reactns to LGBT people are unrstandable bee there's somethg about that is so shockg and so horrifyg that a vlent reactn is to be unrstood, " acrdg to Jenny Pizer, the law and policy director of LGBTQ advocy group Lambda Legal. "Historilly we have seen panic fens ed as a Trojan horse to attempt to brg societal prejudic and hatred agast LGBTQ people, and pecially transgenr women and gay men, to urtrooms an effort to jtify typ of vlence that are simply never jtifiable, " Sue Yacka-Bible, munitns director at GLAAD, told ABC News a statement.

In other words, this view suggts that homophobic dividuals poe an irratnal fear or hatred of homosexualy bee they are threatened or sickened by their own personal attractn to gay dividuals. (1996) believe that this group’s penile rpons are nsistent wh a secret, reprsed attractn, we stead view likely that fensive homophobics are, que lerally, phobic their reactns (Shields & Harriman, 1984).

GAY RIGHTS VS. FREE SPEECHSUPREME COURT BACKS WEB DIGNER OPPOSED TO SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

That is, fensive homophobics might be so averse to gay sex that they experience fear and anxiety wh mere exposure to gay the observatns, appears cril to isolate fensive vers non-fensive forms of homophobia. Self-ceptn is further thought to reflect unnsc motivatns and tennci, renrg an important variable differentiatg fensive and non-fensive forms of self-report (Plh, 1991, Plh and John, 1998) thought likely that self-ceptn and homophobia might teract predictg fensive vers non-fensive forms of homophobia.

Self-ceptn reprents a broad tenncy toward ego-protectn (Plh, 1991, Plh and John, 1998), whereas homophobia pertas to a rather specific doma of ego-protective motiv (Adams et al., 1996). Prejudice do not necsarily volve strong emotnal aversn, but n be a matter of valu and beliefs rather than hostily toward target dividuals (Dovid et al., 1986, Pettigrew, 1989) the other hand, we expect homophobia to operate que differently when bed wh high self-ceptn motiv.