Michigan has become the 20th state to ban the gay and trans “panic” defense, a legal defense that has been used across the nation to justify criminal actions against members of the LGBTQ+ community. Michigan’s Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed House Bill 4718 into law last week, putting an end to the legal defense and helping strengthen protections for the LGBTQ+ community.
The gay and trans “panic” defense was most notably used in the 1998 killing of Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old gay student who attended the University of Wyoming. On the night of October 6, 1998, Shepard was cornered by two men at a Wyoming diner. The men, who were also in their early 20s, offered to give Shepard a ride home but would go on to drive him to a remote location where they pistol-whipped and brutally beat him before robbing him. Shepard was tied to a fence where he would be found eighteen hours later by a cyclist. The beating was so brutal that the cyclist had mistaken Shepard for a scarecrow. Shepard would succumb to his injuries six days later in a nearby hospital.
The two men were arrested, and defendant Aaron McKinney's defense counsel argued that McKinney entered into his violent rage after Shepard allegedly made a sexual advance at him. This defense downplayed McKinney’s violent actions, attempting to shift some of the blame onto Shepard. The case would go on to shine national and international light on crimes against individuals who identify as LGBTQ+. While these “panic” defenses are not freestanding, they are often used in conjunction with other legal defenses and can help reduce the charges and sentencing a defendant faces.
Democratic state Rep. Laurie Pohutsky was the primary sponsor of the Michigan bill and believes that this new law will help dispel the rhetoric that members of the LGBTQ+ community are somehow less deserving of justice because of their sexual orientation. She highlights that the gay and trans “panic defense” paints members of the LGBTQ+ community as being less human, which subsequently minimizes crimes against them.
Pohutsky shares that the passage of this bill was “a huge step toward securing a safe and inclusive state for all Michiganders.”
The American Bar Association has also weighed in on the LGBTQ+ “panic” defense with a 2013 resolution that urged federal, tribal, state and local governments to “take legislative action to curtail the availability and effectiveness” of such defenses.
In a press statement announcing the new law, the Michigan governor's office shared that “this bill significantly expands legal safeguards for the LGBTQ+ community by protecting them from violent acts of discrimination, prejudice, and hate crimes.”
Anderson Lee Aldrich, the shooter responsible for the horrific attack at an LGBTQ+ club in Colorado Springs, was sentenced to 55 life terms in prison on Tuesday. Aldrich's attack, which killed five people and injured 19 others, was prosecuted as a federal hate crime, highlighting the severity and motivation behind... Read More about Colorado Springs Shooter Sentenced to 55 Life Terms
A bill aiming to limit conversion therapy (or “Sexual Orientation Change Efforts”), the practice of trying to change an individual’s sexual orientation, passed the California Assembly on April 19, 2018. Citing reports from the American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association, and various other medical organizations on the limited effectiveness... Read More about California Moves to Ban Gay Conversion Therapy as a Fraudulent Business Practice
Revisions to the Michigan Sex Offender Registration Act were signed into law by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer after a four-year-long process of revisions. The Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA) now includes significant updates to the prior version of the Michigan law, with a long list of amendments that take effect... Read More about Michigan Governor Whitmer Signs New Sex Offender Amendments into Law After 2016 Fed Mandate
A Tennessee city has agreed to end a year-long lawsuit with the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups over a drag ban that made national headlines last year. The trouble began in 2023 after the non-profit LGBTQ+ rights advocacy group, Tennessee Equality Project (TEP), filed a federal lawsuit against... Read More about Tennessee City Agrees to $500K Settlement With ACLU Over ‘Drag Ban’
On February 25, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Equality Act in a 224 - 206 vote with the support of all Democrats and three Republicans. The Act, which has been the center of controversy, aims to expand the rights and protections of LGBTQ individuals. When the bill was... Read More about Equality Act Passes U.S. House in Sweeping Vote