Senate version of FY 22 budget clears committee
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Senate version of FY 22 budget clears committee
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MONTPELIER â The Vermont Senate on Wednesday gave preliminary approval to its version of a bill barring the so-called âpanic defenseâ from being used by defendants accused of assaulting LBGTQ persons.
The bill, H. 128, bars defendants from justifying the use of force against a person due to knowledge or perception of that personâs sexual orientation or gender. It also bans evidence of a nonviolent romantic or sexual advance by a crime victim towards the defendant being used to mitigate the severity of such an offense.
The Senate version of the bill, which passed 29-0 â Senate President Pro Tem Becca Balint was presiding and did not vote â makes one significant addition to the House version by extending the prohibition to the sentencing phase of a trial. The House version of H. 128 was silent on sentencing.
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PUTNEY â State Sen. Jeanette White, D-Windham, knows that the comments she made during a Judiciary Committee hearing April 2 were racially insensitive, and that many people were not satisfied with her subsequent apology for those comments. She says she is sorry, on both accounts.
âIâm not trying to justify myself and say I donât have prejudices and biases,â White said Friday. âIâm trying to learn all the time. But I donât consider myself a racist.â
White, the senior senator from the Windham district, has been at the center of a firestorm since stories about her comments were published in news stories, blogs and social media. Sheâs gotten emails saying she should resign and heard pointed criticism within the state as well.