A New Hampshire state legislator last week halted a debate over a bill to ban “gay or trans panic” as a legal defense for committing manslaughter when the lawmaker referred to LGBTQ people as having a “deviant sexuality.”
Reports New Hampshire Public Radio:
Speaking [in opposition to] a bill that would prohibit an alleged perpetrator from using a victim’s sexuality and gender identity as a defense to manslaughter, Rep. Dick Marston, a Manchester Republican, used the phrase while voicing opposition to the measure.
“We’re all the same breed. We’re all the same people. If you kill somebody you should be charged for murder, and you should be tried on it, and there’s no way in heck that you’re going to be able to say ‘Well because he or she was some deviant sexuality that I’m not–,’” Marston began, before being silenced by the chairman of the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee.
The chairman, Rep. Daryl Abbas, a Salem Republican, immediately rebuked Marston, banging his gavel to drown him out. …
Marsten’s remarks set off angry responses from top Democrats and LGBTQ rights advocates, including Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley, who is gay, and the New Hampshire Stonewall Democrats, a gay rights group.
“The words that Rep. Marston used are extremely oppressive to the LGBTQ+ community and are below the dignity of the position he holds,” said Rep. Joshua Query, the vice chairman of the Stonewall Democrats and the Manchester representative who sponsored the bill. “Rep. Marston’s comments demonstrate the urgent need for New Hampshire to pass bills like HB 238.”
Reports New Hampshire’s Eagle Times, Marsten “apologized [a few days later] and promised to not only continue to learn from the experience but to educate others”:
“I believe that it is important that I continue to do everything I can to heal the pain I have caused,” Rep. Dick Marston, R-Manchester, said in a statement.
“I pray that the people I offended can find it in their hearts to forgive me and accept my apology. For the people who are not ready to forgive me, I understand,” he said. “All I ask is that you not give up on me because I give my word that I continue my progress and guide others to being better people.” …
“I come from a generation where my comments were accepted by society. However, just because I am in my 80s is no excuse to justify my comments. Rather, it is a reminder of the progress our society has made,” he said Friday. “I am sorry I was late in joining the rest of you who already made that progress.”
The fate of the bill to ban the gay and trans panic defense for manslaughter in New Hampshire remains unclear.
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