I Lost It!

I just flipped out when I found out “she was a man” so I killed her. Or gay, or lesbian or substitute any other protected classes.

There is a bill before the state legislature that will ban gay/trans panic defenses, the bill is SB-58 AN ACT CONCERNING GAY AND TRANSGENDER PANIC DEFENSE.

Gay/Trans Panic Defense
The LGBT Bar

What is the gay and trans “panic” defense?
The gay and trans “panic” defense is a legal strategy which asks a jury to find that a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity is to blame for the defendant’s violent reaction, including murder. It is not a free standing defense to criminal liability, but rather a legal tactic which is used to bolster other defenses. When the defense is employed, the perpetrator claims that their victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity not only explain – but excuse – their loss of self-control and subsequent assault. By fully or partially acquitting the perpetrators of crimes against LGBTQ+ victims, these defenses imply that LGBTQ+ lives are worth less than others.

One of the most recognized cases that employed the gay “panic” defense was that of Matthew Shepard. In 1998, Matthew Shepard, a 21 year old college student, was beaten to death by two men. The men attempted to use the gay “panic” defense to excuse their actions. Despite widespread public protest, the defense is still being used today.

How is the defense used in court?
Traditionally, the gay/trans “panic” defense has been used in three ways to mitigate a case of murder to manslaughter or justified homicide.

• Defense of insanity or diminished capacity: The defendant alleges that a sexual proposition by the victim – due to their sexual orientation or gender identity – triggered a nervous breakdown in the defendant, causing a gay or transgender “panic.” This defense is based on an outdated psychological term, “gay panic” disorder, which was debunked by the American Psychiatric Association and removed from the DSM in 1952. Sadly, while the medical field has evolved with our increasingly just society, the legal field has yet to catch up.
• Defense of provocation: The defense of provocation allows a defendant to argue that the victim’s proposition, sometimes termed a “non-violent sexual advance,” was sufficiently “provocative” to induce the defendant to kill the victim. Defendants claiming a “provocative” advance stigmatize behavior which, on its own, is not illegal or harmful, but is only considered “provocative” when it comes from an LGBTQ+ individual.
• Defense of self-defense: Defendants claim they believed that the victim, because of their sexual orientation or gender identity/expression, was about to cause the defendant serious bodily harm. This defense is offensive and harmful because it argues that a person’s gender or sexual identity makes them more of a threat to safety. In addition, gay or trans “panic” is often employed to justify violence when the victim’s behavior falls short of the serious bodily harm standard, or the defendant used a greater amount of force than reasonably necessary to avoid danger, such as using weapons when their attacker was unarmed.

What can you do to help pass this law?

• Call your legislators (you can find them here.)
• Write testimony for the hearing to the Judiciary Committee (you can email them your pdf of your testimony here) (here are some guidelines to help you write it)
• You can write a letter-to-a-editor in your local newspaper.
• You can attend the hearing and testify (I will let you know when the hearing will be)

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Today I am up at the True Color conference at UConn main campus in Storrs and I will be doing a workshop on Trans History with a friend.

The conference is the largest LGBT conference in the world! Over 3500 hundred people attend the two day conference with most of the attendees come on Friday. About 2500 people come on Friday.