Michigan outlaws the 'gay and trans panic defense' in criminal trials

[Lori Dee]

Michigan outlaws the 'gay and trans panic defense' in criminal trials
The law prohibits using a victim's sexuality or gender identity as justification for criminal action.
Link to Full Article
NBC News - Isabel Yip
July 24, 2024, 12:00 PM MDT

Michigan has outlawed the so-called gay and trans panic defense, which allows criminal defense attorneys to use a victim's sexual orientation or gender identity as a defense argument.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, signed House Bill 4718 into law Tuesday. The legislation states that an individual's "actual or perceived sex, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation" is not admissible in a criminal trial to "demonstrate reasonable provocation," "show that an act was committed in a heat of passion" or "support a defense of reduced mental capacity."

In a statement shared on Tuesday, the governor's office said the bill "significantly expands" protections for the LGBTQ community "by protecting them from violent acts of discrimination, prejudice, and hate crimes."

Michigan is now the 20th state to prohibit this type of defense, according to Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ think tank. Last year, Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., and Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., reintroduced the LGBTQ+ Panic Defense Prohibition Act, which would ban such defenses in federal court.

The Michigan bill was introduced by state Rep. Laurie Pohutsky, who is bisexual, and passed in the state House by a vote of 56-54 last month.

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