The shocking reality is this: The so-called “gay panic defense” is only explicitly banned in three states – California, Illinois and, as of this month, Rhode Island. In the 20 years since Matt’s death, just these three states have made the move. And, of course, Wyoming, where he was killed, is not one of them. As a further slap in the face, Wyoming, along with four other states, still doesn’t have a hate crime law of any kind in place.
But recently, two members of Congress ― Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Joe Kennedy, both of Massachusetts ― have offered a countermeasure to those attempting to use the “gay panic” excuse. Their legislation, the Gay and Trans Panic Defense Prohibition Act, that would ban the use of the defense in federal court as a legal justification for anti-LGBTQ violence. [...]
Right now in Massachusetts, a local teen is claiming “gay panic” motivated him to allegedly hold a man hostage for days, beating him while shouting anti-gay slurs. In Texas recently, a light sentence given a man prosecuted for stabbing a neighbor to death raised concerns that the “gay panic” defense had come into play. [...]
Most legal professionals actually advise against it. The American Bar Association, which in 2013 unanimously approved a resolution calling for an end to the use anti-LGBT panic defense in court, sent a letter to Markey expressing its support of the proposed legislation: “These defenses have no place in either our society or justice system and should be legislated out of existence.”
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