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
• WHAT IS THE “GAY PANIC” DEFENSE AND HOW IS IT USED?
• DELAWARE BILL WOULD BAN ‘GAY PANIC’ FENSE
• GAY AND TRANS ‘PANIC’ IS STILL BEG USED TO JTIFY ANTI-LGBTQ ATTACKS
• REPUBLINS PUT 'GAY PANIC' DEFENSE BAN ON PSE NEW HAMPSHIRE
• GAY PANIC DEFENSE OUTLAWED NEW HAMPSHIRE
• NEW HAMPSHIRE STATE HOE PASS HOE BILL 315, ELIMATG ‘GAY PANIC FENSE’
• AGREEMENT REACHED TO END ‘GAY PANIC’ DEFENSE HOE BILL 315
• CALIFORNIA BE FIRST STATE TO BAN GAY, TRANS 'PANIC' DEFENS
• GAY PANIC FENSE
• ‘THE GREAT STATE OF HATE’: TEXAS DECL TO BAN ‘GAY/TRANS PANIC’ DEFENSE
• GAY PANIC
• THE THEORY THAT JTIFIED ANTI-GAY CRIME
• DEFINITIONS FOR GAY PANIC FENSEGAY PAN·IC ·FENSE
• THE GAY/TRANS PANIC DEFENSE
• THE END OF THE GAY-PANIC LEGAL DEFENSE

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.

WHAT IS THE “GAY PANIC” DEFENSE AND HOW IS IT USED?

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. 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. 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 was emed admissible, not due to the illegimacy of the gay/trans panic fense, but stead due to Wyomg's statutory sany fense nstct. 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.

DELAWARE BILL WOULD BAN ‘GAY PANIC’ FENSE

Those who are acced of mtg a vlent crime — even murr — agast members of the LGBTQ muny sometim e the “gay panic” fense orr to have the charg ma agast them rced or dismissed. New Jersey uld soon bee the nth state to ban the gay panic fense after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill dog the same only this past July — a measure that cid wh the Stonewall Uprisg’s 50th anniversary.

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

When the victim is LGBTQ, the fense will try to make the se that the fendant acted the heat of the moment after disverg the victim’s homosexualy or genr inty. The new law was agreed upon after the tails of a Cliffsi Park se which the fendant attempted to e the gay panic fense to jtify a btal murr were argued. 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.

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.

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. 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.

REPUBLINS PUT 'GAY PANIC' DEFENSE BAN ON PSE NEW HAMPSHIRE

Fally, the legal scholar Cynthia Lee has wrten about how offenrs n go around prohibns issued by judg to troduce gay panic fense strategi. 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. In practice, Democrats on the Commtee argued, this uld provi a pathway for someone who is rponsible for the disbursement of survivor benefs to ny them to gay and lbian beneficiari.

“Study after study has shown that where you discrimate agast the LGBTQ muny, whether ’s anti-gay laws Geia or anti-LGBT l overseas, enomic output creas, ” stuntg small bs growth and prsg wag, he said. “When you’ve got a Party that is prrizg makg sure that gay senrs n’t get food when they need , vers a Party that wants to make our streets safer, or a ndidate who wants to raise wag Riversi County, ” Rolls said, regardls of their polil affiliatn “voters unrstand that those prri are misdirected om the far right. Delaware may soon bee the 16th state to ban the LGBTQ+ panic fense, which fendants claim they panicked after learng someone was gay or transgenr and jured or killed the victim.

GAY PANIC DEFENSE OUTLAWED NEW HAMPSHIRE

“When gay panic arguments are forced to take a vert turn — when they are not explic or out the open — they may actually be more effective than they would be if out the open, ” she wrote 2017, cg a 1986 trial which the fense lled four Black teenagers “savag, ” “predators” and “vultur” but didn’t mentn their race explicly. The gay and trans panic fens are not crimal legal fens on their own, like self-fense, but stead ed to argue provotn, dimished pacy, or sany, as well as self-fense, acrdg to Carsten Andren, a crimal jtice profsor at St.

“There’s a hazardo byproduct of puttg out all the toxic ias about gay people and other LGBTQ+ people — this ia that they’re predatory. The Williams Instute at the UCLA School of Law recently found that gay and trans panic fens have appeared publicly reported urt opns roughly half of U.

Andren and other crics of the gay and trans panic fens said there is a signifint difference between claims of self-fense and crim that show an obv anti-queer bias. Kristen Brow, -chairperson of the Natnal Trans Bar Associatn, said the gay and trans panic fens particularly impact transgenr women bee of the disproportnate vlence they face.

NEW HAMPSHIRE STATE HOE PASS HOE BILL 315, ELIMATG ‘GAY PANIC FENSE’

In the face of adly vlence agast trans people, some legislators have ma efforts, wh varyg succs, to ban the gay and trans panic fens urtrooms across the untry.

AGREEMENT REACHED TO END ‘GAY PANIC’ DEFENSE HOE BILL 315

Senator Ed Markey of Massachetts and Reprentative Chris Pappas of New Hampshire, both Democrats, troduced the Gay and Trans Panic Defense Prohibn Act. Acrdg to the Amerin Bar Associatn, the so-lled "gay panic" fense has been ed "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. "This would do away wh that, and has nothg whatsoever to do wh elimatg the gay panic fense, " he said, acrdg to lol tv statn WMUR.

Shn Fililt, an Inpennt, notg that "their bills ban the gay panic fense intil form, and never once – never once – has the argument raised today been brought up those stat. "From Your Se ArticlGay/Trans 'Panic' Defense Leads to Acced Killer's Acqutal ›Democrats Ph to Outlaw 'Gay Panic' Defense ›California Be First State to Ban Gay, Trans 'Panic' Defens ›'Gay Panic' Defense Ban Back on Track New Hampshire ›.

CALIFORNIA BE FIRST STATE TO BAN GAY, TRANS 'PANIC' DEFENS

Several key bills eher passed by one or two vot and one need the vote of Hoe Speaker Sherman Packard to gay panic bill, or Hoe Bill 315, passed the Hoe on a 271-98 vote, and the Senate on a voice the Hoe, several reprentativ argued the bill will have untend nsequenc and uld make harr for women to claim self-fense repellg an unwanted sexual advance. Unr the current law you n tell the jury to fd me guilty of a lser offense bee the person I killed is ls worthy bee he is gay or transgenr, Lynn said. The bill outlawed “gay panic fense” — a legal strategy which a fendant avictim’s inty as an LGBTQ+ dividual as a basis for fense a homici se.

GAY PANIC FENSE

Acrdg to Meyt, members of the State Hoe who prented backlash agast the bill were not necsarily promotg “outright homophobia” but “worried” that the bill would ge on the right to self-fense. “This is part of the bigger trend of ligatg agast queerns and transns, whether you’re lookg at the anti-trans bills that are proliferatg across the untry or the ‘Don't Say Gay’ bills Florida.

In a 6-3 opn, the Court said that webse sign pany 303 Creative do not have to make webs for homosexual dividuals who are disagreement wh their beliefs.. “Sexualy has been ployed as a wedge issue as a way to galvanize folks who are predisposed to homophobia or transphobia the first place, ” Lim said. Robert Lynn, R-Wdham, and former state Supreme Court Chief Jtice, speaks Thursday to the mtee of nference on Hoe Bill 315, to elimate the "gay panic" fense vlent crimal s.

CONCORD — Seekg not to upset the tradnal extreme provotn fense, a mtee of nference members crafted chang to a bill that would prohib g the “gay panic” fense a crimal asslt or homici se or other vlent crim. “The gay panic fense is ed, is ed every year, is ed thoands of tim and is ed succsfully, ” Fililt said, “and that is why the Amerin Bar Associatn wants abolished.

‘THE GREAT STATE OF HATE’: TEXAS DECL TO BAN ‘GAY/TRANS PANIC’ DEFENSE

To officially ban the e of "trans panic" and "gay panic" fens month, the California Assembly passed the bill by a vote of 50-10, sendg the bill to Brown's sk for signature. "In the past, fendants murr s were often able to argue their way to the lser charge of manslghter if the killgs happened durg a "sudn quarrel" or the "heat of passn, " which equently saw fendants claimg they were so shocked to learn that their victim was gay or trans that they had no other reurse bis new law clearly outl that a fendant's disfort wh, suprise at, or fear of a victim's sexual orientatn or genr inty may not be ed as a legal fense to jtify the the 2011 murr trial of teenager Brandon McInerney for the killg of classmate Larry Kg, McInerney's fense team ced Kg's supposed flirtatn wh McInerney as jtifitn for the youth's ath. Brown also signed to law a number of other landmark bills, cludg the a bill helpg transgenr people recieve accurate ath certifit known as the "Rpect After Death Act, " and the "Y Means Y" affirmative nsent law, signed to addrs the risg number of sexual asslts occurrg on llege Your Se ArticlFlorida Dems File Bill Endg Gay and Trans Panic Defense ›California's LGBTQ+ Pardon Program Se Ltle Use After Three Years ›California School Board Print Calls Harvey Milk a 'Pedophile' ›'Gay Panic' Defense Ban Back on Track New Hampshire ›New Hampshire Outlaws 'LGBTQ+ Panic' Defense Homici Cas ›.

In March, Lren Rodriguez ttified ont of the Texas Hoe Commtee on Crimal Jurispnce support of Hoe Bill 73, which would have banned the e of the “gay/trans panic” fense.

GAY PANIC

The panic fense, often ced by fendants s of vlence directed at gay or trans people, argu that after an dividual disvered someone was gay or trans, they panicked and asslted or killed them.

THE THEORY THAT JTIFIED ANTI-GAY CRIME

In more than 100 crimal s between 1970 and 2020 where fendants attempted to e the “gay/trans panic” fense, the hight ncentratn of s took place Texas, acrdg to W. But the 87th Texas Legislature failed to pass HB 73, signalg to LGBTQ Texans like Greyson Rodriguez and his fay that the “gay/trans panic” fense is still an acceptable exce for vlence agast vulnerable Texans. ” LGBTQ rights advot and experts like Andren pot to the light sentence this se as an example of the “gay/trans panic” fense at work.

Rodriguez says that this failure to support and affirm gay, trans, and genr diverse Texans at the state level exacerbat safety ncerns for Greyson.

LGBT is still a popular term ed to discs genr and sexual mori, but all GSRM are wele beyond lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr people who nsent to participate a safe space. Gay panic is a legal fense reurse for perpetrators of vlent crim to claim to have been provoked to temporary sany by teh evil gay the disvery that the victim was LGBT, generally wh the implitn that the victim was makg a pass at them, wh the aim of havg the murr charge rced. Use of the gay panic fense variably reflects negatively on the perpetrator who vok , whether or not they are tellg the tth about beg driven to sany, bee anyone so easily provoked to murro vlence by a perceived threat to their life fay heterosexualy nnot have been particularly sane or secure, to beg wh.

DEFINITIONS FOR GAY PANIC FENSEGAY PAN·IC ·FENSE

The "gay panic" fense is th not only homophobic but also sexist, as assum that men have more right than women do to fend themselv agast male sexual advanc. The gay panic fense is sadly still available to murrers some parts of the world, cludg (as of April 2021) thirty-eight US stat, but there are creasg lls to do away wh .

Perhaps he got off lightly bee he is a former policeman Texas or perhaps bee the jury felt that a gay man's kiss is equivalent to holdg a load weapon agast one's skull. [8] It's worth notg that if the rol had been swched, and Ambach had h on an elrly woman who had then murred him outrage, she uld not have ed the gay panic exce to avoid murr charg.

THE GAY/TRANS PANIC DEFENSE

” Asslters knew that gay men who were asslted rarely went to the police, for fear of havg their orientatn exposed and beg arrted themselv. For most of the twentieth century, was wily believed that “normal” men sometim reacted to a homosexual vatn wh lethal vlence, and the claim of “cent advanc” figured so often reports of murred gay men that the hazard of such vlence was one of the few thgs that many heterosexuals knew, or thought they knew, about gay shed light on the killgs, the social ndns and psychologil nflicts that gave rise to them, and the manipulative and sensatnalist verage that they often received the prs, the cultural historian Jam Polch has wrten “Incent Advanc, ” a grisly, soberg, prehensively rearched new history. One of the qutns at the heart of Polch’s book is whether the term “homosexual panic” scribed a real psychologil rponse or was merely an iologil pretext.

It’s easy to see how nvenient the notn mt have been to fendants, but also would have been nvenient to nservative elements society who wanted to keep gay men a state of fear, analogo to false claims of black-on-whe rape that long ntributed to threats of lynchg and to the supprsn of civil olst plea of homosexual panic Ameri seems to have been ma Massachetts 1868.

” The word homosexual wouldn’t début English for almost another two s, but a fear of homosexualy was already beg prented as a jtifitn for killg a gay man.

THE END OF THE GAY-PANIC LEGAL DEFENSE

Asslt and even murr are apt to prepostero as the ia of homosexual panic may sound today, for much of the twentieth century was treated as somethg like mon sense.

” In 1952, homosexual panic was listed as a mental disorr the first edn of the Amerin Psychiatric Associatn’s Diagnostic and Statistil Manual, and, as late as the neteen-neti, the notn was still so current the popular md that a Christopher Street shop sellg gay-themed T-shirts was lled, what seems to have been ironic homage, Don’t turns out that the psychologil ncept has a ls than illtr orig. Kempf’s text is neher lucid nor theorized that homosexual panic emerged om “the prsure of unntrollable perverse sexual cravgs, ” that is, om the tratn of homosexual urg that typilly arose same-sex environments, such as prison or the ary.

One patient imaged that broken pills were beg surreptly put to his puddg; another went through spells of believg he was was wrong wh the patients sounds much graver than supprsed homosexual urg, which, a century after Kempf, no longer seem as monstro as they may have his day. Some of the men his re did have thoughts about homosexualy, and a few acted on their thoughts, but Kempf terpreted the panic of a man who ate metal polish as “clearly terror at his own homosexual eroticism, ” and, when a patient simulated ath by lyg still on the floor, Kempf observed that “this ually means an offer of sexual submissn. Friedman dismissed the notn that “homosexuals are paranoid” as “of urse false, ” and also nied the rollary, wrg, “Not all pensatg, dangero paranoid patients have homosexual iatn.