Last Tuesday, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed House Bill 4718, making Michigan the 20th state to prohibit defendants from using the “gay or trans panic” defense in court or “a victim’s actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity” as a defense argument.
State Representative Laurie Pohutsky, who sponsored the bill, declared through Whitmer’s office that the legislation marks “a huge step toward securing a safe and inclusive state for all Michiganders.” The law will take effect in October.
Voting along the Party Line
Before the bill made it to the governor’s desk, it was no surprise that the voting followed party lines in the State House, but four Republican senators joined the Democrats to approve the bill.
Does the Defense Work?
No state in the U.S. officially recognizes gay and trans panic defenses as standalone defenses in their penal codes. Instead, these defenses have been used to support arguments of provocation, diminished capacity, insanity, or self-defense (Williams Institute).
But such defenses can reduce a defendant’s murder charges about one-third of the time. There have been more than 700 instances of this defense in murder cases since 1970, including 18 in Michigan (Andresen).
Will there Ever Be a National Ban?
California became the first state to ban the practice in 2014, with many states following suit. However, attempts to outlaw such defenses at the federal level have encountered obstacles.
Where do we stand as a nation? Where are the lines politically drawn regarding this topic? Well, the map below looks very familiar, doesn’t it? Twenty states so far, that’s 2/5 of the nation. Less than half. This probably shows why it has not passed at the national level.
Maybe it will be like Marriage Equality and will become law of the land soon.
Source: MSNBC
If anything, there should be a straight, white panic defense