Crimal Rponsibily, Dimished Capacy, and the Gay Panic Defense | Office of Jtice Programs

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
• ALLEGED 'GAY PANIC FENSE' TEXAS MURR TRIAL STUNS ADVOT
• COURTS 39 AMERIN STAT STILL ADM THE “GAY-PANIC” FENCE
• GAY AND TRANS ‘PANIC’ IS STILL BEG USED TO JTIFY ANTI-LGBTQ ATTACKS
• WHAT IS THE LEGAL DEFN OF THE GAY PANIC DEFENSE?
• 'GAY PANIC' FENSE STILL ED VLENCE S MAY BE BANNED BY NEW FERAL BILL
• CRIMAL RPONSIBILY, DIMISHED CAPACY, AND THE GAY PANIC DEFENSE

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

The gay/trans panic legal fense legimiz and exc vlent and lethal behavr agast members of the LGBTQ+ muny. 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.

As of July 1, 2019, eight stat have passed legislative bans on the e of gay/trans panic as a legal fense: California, Illois, Rho Island, Nevada, Connecticut, Mae, Hawaii, and New York. It mt be noted that gay/trans panic is not an affirmative legal fense; is a tactic to strengthen the fense by playg on prejudice. Dpe bunkg "gay panic disorr, " and s removal om the DSM by the Amerin Psychologil Associatn 1973, legal fense teams ntue to e the 1954 murr of William T.

Simpson North Miami, FL, the fendants claimed that they shot Simpson, a gay man, while "ristg his advanc, " th utilizg the provotn fense.

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. The fense aga utilized the provotn fense, cg that the nature of the note and Amre's homosexualy was enough to send Schmz to a panic and kill Amre. The gay/trans panic fense has not always been succsful.

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

The gay/trans panic fense was emed admissible, not due to the illegimacy of the gay/trans panic fense, but stead due to Wyomg's statutory sany fense nstct. Currently, there are several other state legislative efforts to ban and nounce the legimacy of the gay/trans panic fense. At the feral level, the Equaly Act, which bans the gay/trans panic fense, has jt been troduced.

ALLEGED 'GAY PANIC FENSE' TEXAS MURR TRIAL STUNS ADVOT

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. On January 21, New Jersey beme the nth state the natn to ban the gay panic fense, a strategy that the ernor said is “rooted homophobia. Carsten Andren, a crimal jtice scholar, has been buildg a database of murr s that e the gay panic fense.

What is the gay panic fense? The offenr the gay panic fense as an exce or jtifitn to try to eva punishment for the crime of murr.

COURTS 39 AMERIN STAT STILL ADM THE “GAY-PANIC” FENCE

In this stance, the gay panic fense was succsful. Two events put me on a path to rearchg the gay panic fense. At the nference, my ey opened to the obstacl that the LGBTQ+ muny fac a state like Texas, where there is history of homophobia that ntu to the prent day.

A few days after his ath, I learned for the first time that he was gay, and realized that he had lived an almost pletely closeted life. Both of the thgs disquieted me and set the stage for my future rearch on the gay panic fense. How mon is the gay panic fense?

It is also difficult to get rmatn about murrs where offenrs e a gay panic fense urt.

GAY AND TRANS ‘PANIC’ IS STILL BEG USED TO JTIFY ANTI-LGBTQ ATTACKS

Based on my early analysis, fense attorneys who enter gay panic fens n rce a fendants’ murr charg 32% of the time, even though the majory of the homicis volve credible vlence. Victims who live a closeted gay life are pecially vulnerable.

The offenrs the s seemed to take advantage of this “secret” after they were arrted to ultimately nstct a nefar portra of the victims their gay panic fense urt.

WHAT IS THE LEGAL DEFN OF THE GAY PANIC DEFENSE?

In 2013, the Amerin Bar Associatn lled a proclamatn for stat to prohib the gay and trans panic fens. Sce then, ne stat have passed legislatn prohibg the gay panic fense.

Yet, this legislatn do not necsarily signal an end to homophobia the urtroom. Fally, the legal scholar Cynthia Lee has wrten about how offenrs n go around prohibns issued by judg to troduce gay panic fense strategi.

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

In the Matthew Shepard murr trial, the fense attorney troduced two wns to ttify that the victim was sexually assertive, even though the judge had prohibed them om g a gay panic fense. 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.

CRIMAL RPONSIBILY, DIMISHED CAPACY, AND THE GAY PANIC DEFENSE

" 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.