Michigan has outlawed the so-called gay and trans panic defense, which allows criminal defense attorneys to use a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity as a defense argument.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, signed House Bill 4718 into law Tuesday.
Michigan is now the 20th state to prohibit this type of defense, according to Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ think tank.
Last year, Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., and Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., reintroduced the LGBTQ+ Panic Defense Prohibition Act, which would ban such defenses in federal court.
There have been cases, however, where the panic defense has been used with some success.
In September 2023, after the Michigan House Criminal Justice Committee heard testimony on House Bill 4718, Pohutsky wrote in a post on X that Michigan is among the top 10 states that most frequently use the panic defense, citing a statistic from the Equality Michigan Action Network.
“Prohibiting the use of the LGBTQ panic defense means there are no more free passes for violent crimes against our community members.”. »
