BEING FREAKED OUT BY A GAY OR TRANS PERSON IS STILL
ILLEGAL MURDERED OFFENSE IN ABOUT 48 STATES.
MAYBE YOU HAVE HEARD ABOUT THIS BEFORE, BUT THERE IS
ACTUALLY A LEGAL DEFENSE STRATEGY.
AND SHORT-TERM IT'S CALLED TRANS OR GAY PANIC DEFENSE.
WHAT YOU ARE ASKING FOR WHEN YOU SUBMIT THAT DEFENSE IS
SEEKING TO PIN BLAME FOR VIOLENCE AND ASSAULT ON
ONE'S SEXUAL ORIENTATION OR GENDER IDENTITY.
THOUGH NOT OFTEN SUCCESSFUL, THEY'RE TROUBLING FOR THE
FACT THAT IN MOST STATES THEY ARE ALLOWABLE AT ALL.
IN 2013,
THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION DID RELEASE A RESOLUTION
CALLING FOR FEDERAL STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO PASS
LEGISLATION CURTAILING THEIR USE BUT AS OF YET, ONLY CALIFORNIA
AND ILLINOIS HAVE INTRODUCE LAWS THAT WOULD BAN THIS DEFENSE.
I STUCK, SAYING IT IS WORRYING THAT A VAST MAJORITY OF STATES
HAVE GETS A BAND A LEGAL DEFENSE THAT USES ONE'S GENDER OR SEXUAL
IDENTITY TO JUSTIFY VIOLENCE THAT MORE WORRYINGLY, HANDFUL
STATES BESIDES CALIFORNIA AND ILLINOIS THAT HAVE RECENTLY
TRIED TO BAN THESE DEFENSES HAVE FAILED AND THE LEGISLATION IS IN
PROGRESS AND OTHERS, BILLS THAT HAVEN'T PASSED OUR CASE STUDY IN
THE BUREAUCRATIC RED TAPE THEY CAN BOG DOWN ñ
BOG DOWN ALL WHAT SHOULD BE AN OPEN AND SHUT EFFORT.
THEY GO TO DETAIL ON A COUPLE OF STATES THAT ARE WORKING
INCLUDING NEW JERSEY AND PENNSYLVANIA BUT THEY ARE
JUST NOT QUITE GETTING THERE.
THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION FOR THEIR PART HAS SAID THE
DEFENSE HAS NO MEDICAL OR PSYCHOLOGICAL BASIS AND
THEIR USE TO MAKE A CASE FOR EITHER INSANITY OR
DIMINISHED CAPACITY IS INAPPROPRIATE SINCE
HOMOSEXUAL PANIC DISORDER, HOLY SHIP, WAS ONCE THOUGHT TO BE.
BY HIS PSYCHE KNOWLEDGE PSYCHOLOGIST TO BE PANIC
BROUGHT ON BY PERVERSION IS NO LONGER RECOGNIZED BY THE
AMERICAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION'S DIAGNOSTIC
AND STATISTICAL MANUAL OF MENTAL DISORDERS.
EVERY ONCE IN
A WHILE I HAVE A FLASHBACK TO AN OLDER TIME WHEN THAT COULD,
HOMOSEXUAL PANIC DISORDER, OH MY GOSH.
THANK GOODNESS ARE BEING BORN IN THE 90S.
RECENT CASES HAVE SHOWN THAT THE DEFENSE CAN BE USED
EFFECTIVELY SOMETIMES TO HELP MITIGATE SENTENCES, SUCH AS
THAT OF THE MURDER OF LURKING, AND OPENLY GAY 15-YEAR-OLD
OXNARD CALIFORNIA STUDENT WHO WAS SHOT BY CLASSMATE
BRANDON MCINERNEY IN 2008.
HIS DEFENSE DID ACTUALLY ABOUT A GAY PANIC DEFENSE CLAIMING
THAT HIS SEXUAL JEERS WERE TO BLAME FOR THE SHOOTING.
I DON'T REALLY KNOW HOW YOU SLICE IS UP WHERE IT ISN'T
VICTIM BLAMING.
IT IS.
HE WAS BY THE WAY, DOING THE SEXUAL CHEERS IN RESPONSE
TO SHOUTING I AM GOING TO KILL YOU, I HATE YOU.
HATEFUL THINGS SHOUTED AT HIM.
IT WAS LIKE DEFLECTING.
HARMLESS DEFLECTING AND IT IS LIKE, OH NO, THAT IS WHY WE
DID THIS.
IT IS INSANE TO THINK THAT YOU DESERVE TO BE KILLED BECAUSE
OF SOMETHING THAT YOU ARE, BECAUSE OF THE WAY THAT YOU ARE.
THAT'S A PROPER DEFENSE.
OR THE WAY YOU ARE IS PROVOKING SOMEONE TO ACT
VIOLENTLY AGAINST YOU.
THAT SEEMS LIKE AS A LEGAL WAY TO SAY THERE IS
SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOU.
THEY ARE TRYING TO IMPLY THAT YOU ARE GAY AND THUS, YOU,
LIKE A GRIZZLY BEAR ARE SO INHERENTLY DANGEROUS THAT
YOU MIGHT NEED TO BE KILLED BECAUSE OF IT.
WHAT IS FUNNY IS, IT'S A TOTAL CROSSOVER, BUT THERE ARE PEOPLE,
GENERALLY CONSERVATIVES IN THIS COUNTRY, FOR INSTANCE, MIGHT BE
CHRISTIANS AND FEEL LIKE CHRISTIANS ARE THE VICTIMS
AND WE ARE BEING HUNTED DOWN THERE TRYING TO TAKE AWAY
CHRISTMAS AND WE ARE THIS TINY LITTLE ATTACKED MINORITY
EVEN THOUGH WE ARE THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE COUNTRY AND
HOLD ALL OF THE POSITIONS OF POWER IN GOVERNMENT.
THE SAME THING, THE IDEA THAT GAY PEOPLE ARE PREDATORS HUNTING
DOWN THE WEEK ISOLATED STRAIGHT PEOPLE IS STUPID AND RIDICULOUS.
ALL OF ALL THE SORTS OF LAWS ARE, IT'S THE SAME AS LAWS
THAT PREVIOUSLY, AND THANKFULLY MOST OF THEM ARE GONE THAT
ALLOW YOU TO RAPE OR PUNCH YOUR WIFE.
IT IS INCREDIBLY CONSERVATIVE PEOPLE PASSED LAWS IN THE
PAST AND A LOT OF THEM, ESPECIALLY CONSERVATIVE
AREAS HAVE LINGER TO TODAY.
WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE ALSO FROM VICES REPORTING IS THAT
THIS IS A LAZY DEFENSE.
THEY WERE SAYING THEY CONSULTED WITH THE FORMER CALIFORNIA
MEMBER AND THEY WERE SAYING THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T
WANT FOR THE BILLING CALIFORNIA TO PASS, WHICH FORTUNATELY
IT HAS WERE FORMER PUBLIC DEFENDERS AND THEY HAD RAISED
CONCERNS THAT BY BANNING PANIC DEFENSES IN GENERAL, DEFENDANTS
WOULD BE DENIED A COMPLETE AND FULLY RIGOROUS DEFENSE.
THAT IS JUST LAZY.
THAT IS LIKE TRYING TO ADJUST CURRENT THE RULES OR MAYBE
OUTDATED LAWS THAT DON'T ACCOUNT FOR MODERN TIMES OR COMMON
SENSE.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO REALLY SAY ABOUT THE STORY.
IT NEEDS TO CHANGE, NEEDS TO CATCH UP TO THE REST OF THE
COUNTRY.
I JUST COULDN'T BELIEVE THAT IN 48
STATES, I KNOW I LIVE IN A VERY SAFE BUBBLE, BUT THERE
MOMENTS LIKE THIS AND I TALKED ABOUT THIS WITH MY
GIRLFRIEND AND WE LIVE IN WEST HOLLYWOOD WHICH IS ONE OF
THE GAYEST PARTS OF THE WORLD, SOME PEOPLE HAVE SAID OH,
SHE IS SO SHELTERED BECAUSE SHE LIVES IN THIS BUBBLE.
WHY WOULD I WANT TO LEAVE IT?
MY PARENTS LIVE IN KENTUCKY AND I'D LOVE THEM, BUT I DIDN'T
GROW UP THERE.
I DON'T VISIT THEM OFTEN, THEY COME TO ME BECAUSE KENTUCKY
IS MICHAEL.
I WILL BE YELLED AT FOR BEING SO VISIBLY GAY WHICH I LOVE,
BUT THEY DON'T.
IT IS JUST GROSS.
MY HEART BREAKS FOR MY COMMUNITY WHEN I HEAR ABOUT THINGS
LIKE THIS.