Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. (I, D, WF, REF - Sag Harbor) announced that he helped pass a bill to prevent the use of a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity as an affirmative defense in an effort to reduce a charge of murder to manslaughter (A.8375).

“The ‘gay or trans panic’ defense uses hate to justify a heinous crime, and it has no place in the courtroom,” Assemblyman Thiele said. “When someone is tragically and brutally taken too soon, it’s a blatant injustice to point the finger at discovery of the victim’s gender identity or sexual orientation as the perpetrator’s motivation, as if it’s the victim’s fault. We need to see this defense strategy for what it truly is – bigotry as an excuse for murder.”

The Assembly’s bill would prohibit the affirmative defense of extreme emotional disturbance in relation to the discovery of a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity in cases where the defendant is being charged with murder. Often referred to as the “gay panic” or “trans panic” defenses, the strategy has been used to mitigate murder cases by alleging the defendant panicked after learning of the victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity.[1] This legislation would bar defendants from using the defense to seek conviction for manslaughter, rather than murder.

The defense strategy was made widely known after it was used in the trials of Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson for the beating death of Matthew Shepard in 1998 in Laramie, Wyoming. In New York, James Dixon was offered a plea deal after admitting he beat Islan Nettles to death in 2013 after finding out she was transgender. Dixon said he lashed out at Nettles after being mocked for flirting with her.[2] With attacks on the transgender community rising,[3] New York would become the fifth state to ban the use of “gay panic” and “trans panic” in the courtroom.[4]

“This defense has been on the books for far too long, making hate crimes excusable when they’re anything but that,” said Assemblyman Thiele. “Each and every New Yorker has the right to be who they are and love whom they love.”

[1] lgbtbar.org/programs/advocacy/gay-trans-panic-defense

[2] usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/05/08/gay-panic-defenses-new-york-weighs-bill/1129430001

[3] cnn.com/2018/06/11/us/sproj-iyw-anti-violence-project-transgender-violence/index.html

[4] lgbtbar.org/programs/advocacy/gay-trans-panic-defense