This bill would prohibit the use of "panic defenses" in federal criminal cases, a legal strategy where defendants claim they violently attacked someone because of the victim's sexual orientation or gender identity. The legislation prevents defendants from arguing that discovering or perceiving someone's sexual orientation or gender identity excuses or reduces responsibility for crimes like murder and assault. The bill does allow courts to admit evidence of a defendant's past trauma as a mitigating factor under existing rules of evidence. The measure also requires the Attorney General to submit annual reports to Congress on federal prosecutions of bias-motivated crimes against LGBTQ individuals. The bill has no specific funding allocation and would take effect upon enactment.
Take Action
Your position
Add a comment
to comment on this bill.
Annotate the text
Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.