POLITICS
Several States Ban Use of Panic Defense
Legal defense has been used to explain murdering LGBTQ victims
BY TAT BELLAMY-WALKER
Four states and the nation’s
capital have taken
action to ban the socalled
LGBTQ “panic
defense,” which is a legal strategy
used by defendants to cite a victim’s
sexual orientation or gender
identity as an excuse to commit a
violent crime.
In recent months, Maryland, Oregon,
Washington D.C., Vermont,
and Virginia all moved to ban the
use of the panic defense. Defendants
have used the panic defense
in court by claiming that a victim’s
gender identity or sexual orientation
caused them to act out in a
violent way.
While lawmakers in Maryland
approved the legislation in March,
the law will go into effect in October,
according to the Washington
Blade.
Republican Governor Phil Scott of Vermont signed his state’s law banning the use of panic defense.
“Establishing that the discovery
or perception of, or belief about, another
person’s race, color, national
origin, sex, gender identity, or sexual
orientation, whether or not accurate,
does not constitute legally
adequate provocation to mitigate a
killing from the crime of murder to
manslaughter nor is it a defense to
REUTERS/CHRISTINNE MUSCHI
the crime of assault in any degree,”
notes the bill in Maryland, where
Republican Governor Larry Hogan
is letting the bill go into law without
his signature.
In Vermont, another state led by
a Republican, Governor Phil Scott
of Vermont signed the bill into law
in early May and posted a YouTube
video stating, “Your identity should
never be an excuse for someone to
cause you harm.”
Also in May, Oregon’s Democratic
Governor Kate Brown signed
her own state’s version of the law
striking down the discriminatory
defense. The bill’s sponsor, Oregon
State Representative Karin Power,
said the legislation would send a
“strong and proactive message that
the perpetrator…will not be able to
excuse the crime simply based on
who their victim is.”
Last year, city councilmembers
in Washington D.C. also voted to
repeal the strategy, and on May 15
of this year, the law went into effect.
Governor Ralph Northam of Virginia
approved a similar measure
on Trans Day of Visibility. That bill
was introduced and sponsored by
Danica Roem, the fi rst out transgender
lawmaker in the state.
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