BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS

Michigan to no longer allow 'gay panic,' 'trans panic' legal defenses in murder cases

Michigan Gov.Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday signed a bill banning the "gay panic" or "trans panic" legal defenses. They could be used by defendants charged with violent crimes against gay and trans people. File Photo by Andrew Harrer/UPI | License Photo

July 24 (UPI) -- Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday signed a bill banning "gay panic" or "trans panic" legal defenses.

Those now-banned defense procedures had allowed defendants charged with killing gay or trans people to argue that discovering a person's sexual orientation or gender identity justified their deadly actions.

The bill signed by Whitmer says, "Evidence of the discovery of, knowledge about, or potential disclosure of an individual's actual or perceived sex, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation is not admissible for any of the following purposes: to demonstrate reasonable provocation; to show that an act was committed in a heat of passion; to support a defense of reduced mental capacity."

Whitmer told The Advocate, "Since I took office, we expanded the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to cover the LGBTQ+ community, established the Michigan LGBTQ+ Advisory Council, and banned conversion therapy for minors. Our work is not done as we continue to make progress and move Michigan forward. I look forward to reviewing the legislation and continuing to work alongside the LGBTQ+ community to ensure justice."

Bill sponsor State Rep. Laurie Pohutsky (D-Livonia) said, "I have been incredibly passionate about this bill for several years, and I am elated to see it signed into law. Protecting the future of LGBTQ+ people across Michigan is something I have been working hard to do."

In her statement,. Whitmer said HB 4718 "makes Michigan the 20th state to outlaw the 'gay or transgender panic defense' in a court of law. This defense uses the discovery of a person's actual or perceived gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation as justification for the commission of a crime."

The governor's statement added that the bill she signed "significantly expands legal safeguards for the LGBTQ+ community by protecting them from violent acts of discrimination, prejudice, and hate crimes."

Equality Michigan director of advocacy and civil engagement Emme Zanotti said in a statement to NBC News that LGBTQ people deserve the same protections as everyone else.

"Prohibiting the use of the LGBTQ panic defense means there are no more free passes for violent crimes against our community members," she wrote.

The "gay panic" defense was unsuccessfully used in the murder trial of Aaron McKinney, one of two men accused in the fatal beating of 21-year-old gay Montana student Matthew Shepard in Wyoming in 1998.

Whitmer, one of a handful of potential running mates being vetted by Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, signed 39 bills Wednesday, according to her office.

Thirty-six of them were bipartisan.

"Today, I was proud to sign 39 bills that will make a real difference in people's lives and deliver on a range of bipartisan priorities," Whitmer said in a statement. "From raising wages for clean energy workers to bolstering Michigan's infrastructure; improving the criminal justice system to investing in our schools, today's legislation will build on our strong economic momentum and move Michigan forward."