Delaware has officially banned the so-called “gay and trans panic” defense, becoming the 17th state in the nation to do so.
The panic defense is a legal defense strategy used to justify violent crimes against LGBTQ+ people due to a perpetrator “panicking” over discovering their victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
According to the Movement Advancement Project, no state allows the defense to be used on its own, but it is often used alongside other defense strategies as a way to advocate for leniency.
What laws even permit this as a defense? Or have judges just been legislating on their own?
Like a judge cant just say a robbery doesnt count because the victim is vegetarian or some shit.
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The actual defense being used in these cases is one of diminished mental capacity. Gay/trans panic is just a specific example of such a defense.