Michigan Senate passes bill to ban ‘gay panic’ as defense • Michigan Advance

The Michigan State Senate passed a bill on Thursday that would ban the use of the “gay panic” and “trans panic” defense arguments in court.

Bill 4718 would prohibit the use of a legal defense that partially or fully excuses crimes such as murder and assault on the grounds that the victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity was to blame.

It passed by a vote of 24 to 14, with four Republicans – Senators Mark Huizenga (R-Walker), Dan Lauwers (R-Brockway), Jonathan Lindsey (R-Sturgis) and Ed McBroom (Vulcan) – joining all Democrats who voted for it.

Bill to end Michigan’s ‘gay panic’ defense to be heard in House of Representatives

This was in contrast to the time when State Representative Laurie Pohutsky (D-Livonia) presented the bill last year and it was passed by the House of Representatives with 56-53 Party line votewith every Republican present voting against it.

Testimony at committee hearings in March Commenting on the bill, Pohutsky said the defense is often used to exploit the biases of judges and juries to reduce sentences.

“At its core, the defense argues that crimes against the LGBTQ community carry less weight because we are inherently less human and therefore less valuable,” she said.

In 2013, the American Bar Association advised federal and local governments to prohibit legal defenses that “attempt to partially or fully excuse crimes such as murder and assault on the grounds that the victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity was responsible for the defendant’s violent response.”

The legislation is supported by several organizations, including the Human Rights Campaign, the LGBTQ+ Section of the State Bar of Michigan, the Michigan League for Public Policy and the Equality Michigan Action Network, which said The Senate passage brings “one step closer to ensuring that a victim’s LGBTQ+ status cannot be used to undermine justice.”

The bill now goes back to the state House of Representatives for final approval before being forwarded to Governor Whitmer for her signature.