Virgia be the 12th state to ban the gay/trans panic fense, which has been ed by homici fendants who say they panicked after fdg out someone was LGBTQ.
Contents:
- THE GAY/TRANS PANIC DEFENSE: WHAT IT IS, AND HOW TO END IT
- WHAT IS THE LEGAL DEFN OF THE GAY PANIC DEFENSE?
- GAY/TRANS PANIC DEFENSE BANS
- GAY AND TRANS ‘PANIC’ IS STILL BEG USED TO JTIFY ANTI-LGBTQ ATTACKS
- 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
- GAY AND TRANS PANIC FENS NTUE TO BE ED URT S MANY US STAT
- THE RIDICULOLY THOROUGH GUI TO THE GAY/TRANS PANIC DEFENSE.
- VIRGIA BE 12TH STATE TO BAN GAY/TRANS PANIC FENSE
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. The fense is fed by the LGBT Bar as “a legal strategy which asks a jury to fd that a victim’s sexual orientatn or genr inty is to blame for the fendant’s vlent reactn, cludg murr.” * gay and trans panic defense *
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.
WHAT IS THE LEGAL DEFN OF THE GAY PANIC DEFENSE?
This map picts bans on so-lled "gay and trans panic" fens the Uned Stat. The 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. * gay and trans panic defense *
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.
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.
GAY/TRANS PANIC DEFENSE BANS
Virgia jt beme the first state the South to ban the e of the “gay and trans panic” fense urt. * gay and trans panic defense *
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.
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.
GAY AND TRANS ‘PANIC’ IS STILL BEG USED TO JTIFY ANTI-LGBTQ ATTACKS
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.
BEG AAID OF A GAY OR TRANS PERSON IS STILL A VALID MURR DEFENSE MOST OF THE US
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 gay panic fense is often ed njunctn wh more mon fens such as provotn or self-fense — when legal at all.
The gay panic fense, sometim lled the LGBTQ+ panic fense where transgenr or other inty-based victims are ncerned, is unr creased scty bee so often is based on the prenceived notn that somethg is “wrong” wh the LGBTQ muny. At least four stat have ma the gay panic fense illegal, and New Jersey legislators seek to make their state the nth. But the gay panic fense might soon be stck down at the feral level thanks to a “Sexual Orientatn and Genr Inty Panic Defense Prohibn Act of 2019” put forth by the Washgton, D.
If passed, fendants would no longer be allowed to base legal strategi on actg the heat of the moment after disverg someone is gay or transgenr. As long as gay and trans panic fens are allowed our state and feral urts, the LGBTQ muny will be prived of the jtice all Amerins serve. So-lled gay and trans panic legal fens perpetuate bigotry and vlence toward the LGBTQ muny and should be banned.
BANNG THE USE OF GAY AND TRANS PANIC DEFENS
All Amerins serve to be treated wh digny and humany our jtice system…Relegate hateful practice of gay and trans panic fense to the history books. Not everyone agre wh the new legislatn — even when they don’t agree wh the gay panic fense. Gee Washgton Universy Law School Profsor Cynthia Lee said, “I…argue that banng gay panic arguments om the crimal urtroom is a bad ia.
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. 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. Gay And Trans ‘Panic’ Is Still Beg Used To Jtify Anti-LGBTQ Attacks.
GAY AND TRANS PANIC FENS NTUE TO BE ED URT S MANY US STAT
The area where Bond was shot was known as a gay cisg area, acrdg to a report Out Magaze. Wells’s statement shocked queer activists, who have e to ll the claim and others like the gay and trans panic fens. 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.
THE RIDICULOLY THOROUGH GUI TO THE GAY/TRANS PANIC DEFENSE.
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. Rick Garcia, Equaly Illois’ polil director at the time, blamed the acqutal on the gay panic fense. “The gay panic fense is passe but, unfortunately, still works some plac, ” Garcia told the Chigo Tribune.
“It seems to me that this jury based s verdict not on the facts but on ep seated anti-gay sentiment. 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.
“And that is what [the gay and trans panic fense] is sayg. 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.
VIRGIA BE 12TH STATE TO BAN GAY/TRANS PANIC FENSE
Senator Ed Markey of Massachetts and Reprentative Chris Pappas of New Hampshire, both Democrats, troduced the Gay and Trans Panic Defense Prohibn Act. See 2014 Hate Crime Statistics, available at Coaln of Anti-Vlence Programs, Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr, Queer, and HIV-Affected Hate Vlence 2014 8 (2015), available at J.