Lawmakers in Maryland, Virginia introduce bills banning ‘LGBTQ+ panic defense’
Lawmakers in Maryland and Virginia are seeking to ban so-called “LGBTQ+ panic” defenses.
The National LGBT Bar Association defines LGBTQ+ panic defense as “legal strategy that asks a jury to find that a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity/expression is to blame for a defendant’s violent reaction, including murder.”
The organization, which has led the effort to ban the “heinous defense” strategy across the country since 2013, says that when defense lawyers use the “panic” defense strategy, they are “claiming that a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity not only explains but excuses a loss of self-control and the subsequent assault. By fully or partially acquitting the perpetrators of crimes against LGBTQ+ victims, this defense implies that LGBTQ+ lives are worth less than others.”