October 1st

Today there is a bunch of new laws that go into effect here in Connecticut including a law to ban trans/gay panic defense in criminal trials. The law bans the defense where a defendant claims that they lost it when the found out the victim was trans or gay, but most of the time they knew that already and it was when they were harassed by their friends for dating a trans woman or they were dating a gay man and got a guilty conscience.

Trans Woman's Killer Used the "Gay Panic Defense." It's Still Legal in 42 States.
Islan Nettles' assailant claimed he’d felt duped and humiliated by the revelation of his victim's gender identity
Vice News
By Juliette Maigné
July 21, 2019

[…]
Islan Nettles was walking home with a friend when she ran into James Dixon and a group of six young men headed south on Frederick Douglass Boulevard in Harlem, on their way home after plans had been cancelled [sic]. As the two groups collided, a drunken Dixon, 23, began flirting with 21-year-old Nettles, whom he thought “was a female.” Dixon told police he didn’t remember the exchange of words.

But when one of his buddies shouted, “That’s a guy!”, Dixon pushed Nettles away, and she pushed back. Dixon said he tripped and “got enraged,” so he punched her in the face. Nettles fell down and hit her head on the curb, causing a serious brain injury. Dixon swung a second punch “as she lay on the ground,” while “driving the side of her head into the pavement,” according to prosecutors.
[…]
“Sadly, the crazy part about it is [that] he probably really was into her,” Houston said in a phone interview. “I believe the presence of his friends was what made him intimidated. The fact that he was trans-attracted and his friends were present initiated the anger in him. If you’re beating somebody with your bare hands, you’re trying to kill this person. I think a lot of it had to do with him being attracted to trans women in the past. But this time, he happened to be with his homeboys.”

Here in Connecticut the law banning trans/gay panic defense goes into effect today reads in part…

PA19-27  AN ACT CONCERNING GAY AND TRANSGENDER PANIC DEFENSE.
[…]
In any prosecution for an offense, justification, as defined in sections 53a-17 to 53a-23, inclusive, shall be a defense. Justification as a defense does not include provocation that resulted solely from the discovery of, knowledge about or potential disclosure of the victim's actual or perceived sex, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, including under circumstances in which the victim made an unwanted, nonforcible, romantic or sexual advance toward the defendant, or if the defendant and victim dated or had a romantic relationship. As used in this section, "gender identity or expression" means gender identity or expression, as defined in section 53a-181i.
[…]
(b) No person is justified in using force upon another person which would otherwise constitute an offense based solely on the discovery of, knowledge about or potential disclosure of the victim's actual or perceived sex, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, including under circumstances in which the victim made an unwanted, nonforcible, romantic or sexual advance toward the defendant, or if the defendant and victim dated or had a romantic relationship.

Some of the other laws going into law today are (Patch)…

Gun Laws
Several gun safety and ghost gun laws will go into effect Oct. 1. The law will require safe storage of guns even when the yare unloaded and they know that a minor under the age of 18 could gain access without parental permission.

Pistols and revolvers will have to be kept in a locked trunk, safe or locked glove box when left unattended in a motor vehicle.

Come Oct. 1 people won't be able to create or transfer what is commonly referred to as a "ghost gun," which is the process of creating a firearm that doesn't have a unique serial number. Those who create such guns will be required to get a unique identifier from the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection. The law also bans the manufacture of firearms made from plastic that aren't detectable through metal detectors.

Also…

Minimum Wage IncreaseThe minimum wage will rise from $10.10 to $11 come Oct. 1. It will then increase by $1 every year until it reaches $15 come June 1, 2023. Future increases will be tied to the federal employment cost index.

Short-Term RentalsShort-term rental facilitators like Airbnb will have to collect and remit the state's room occupancy tax.

From CT News Junkie…

Police AccountabilityAs of today, police departments whose officers are involved in the use of deadly force must release any video footage of the incident within 96 hours.

The new law paves the way for more police accountability after several dramatic shootings that sparked protests and calls for legislation. The law requires police departments to release any body- or dash-camera footage of police using deadly force within 48 hours of involved officers viewing the video, or within 96 hours of the incident, whichever comes first.

The definition of police “use of force” expands to include chokeholds and pursuits. It also prohibits police from shooting into or at, or standing in front of, a fleeing vehicle in most cases.

The Office of Policy and Management will also be tasked with cataloging police uses of force and reporting them to the legislature, in addition to making them available online.

Jailhouse WitnessesConnecticut became the first state in the nation to require prosecutors to track information on jailhouse witnesses with the signing of SB 1098.

The first-of-its-kind law that went into effect today requirea that the state’s Office of Policy and Management Criminal Justice Division set up a system to track information on all potential jail houses that can be accessed by every prosecutor in the state.

The law is designed to create safeguards against the use of unreliable jailhouse testimony that could impact the outcome of a case.

Youthful OffendersA new law will close Connecticut courtrooms and seal the records of juveniles being prosecuted as adults for certain crimes.

The legislation passed unanimously by both chambers of the legislature will retroactively seal 116 pending and future cases.

The arraignment and all subsequent proceedings in these cases before the entry of a guilty plea or the entry of a verdict after trial are to be conducted in a closed courtroom. The records of these proceedings are confidential in the same manner as are juvenile proceedings in accordance with state law, except that the victim can obtain case records and information through an official designated by the court.