A bill to ban “gay” and “trans panic” as a legal defense for committing violent acts against LGBTQ people sailed through Vermont’s House judiciary committee with unanimous support yesterday. And cosponsoring the bill is Rep. Taylor Small of Winooski, who became the first openly transgender state legislator in Vermont earlier this year.
The bill was expected to make it to the House floor this week and then over to the state’s Senate, Small told the Burlington-based WCAX-TV 3, which reported that:
Small says H.128, an act relating to limiting criminal defenses based on victim identity, is long overdue in Vermont. She says some have been surprised that a law like this isn’t already present in Vermont.
“As a lot of people have said, it’s surprising that it isn’t on the books in that protected category and class. And really the reason is we don’t really see LGBTQ people represented in our Constitution. We don’t really hear about defenses where you can legitimize a crime based on someone’s identity, and yet when it comes to LGBTQ folks, and more specifically trans folks, that representation and coverage just isn’t there,” she said.
According to the American Bar Association, the panic defense is defined as “a legal strategy which asks a jury to find that a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity is to blame for the defendant’s violent reaction, including murder.” It’s reportedly rarely used in Vermont.
“The hope is we are putting this on the books so it doesn’t come up again in the state, even if it didn’t come up frequently beforehand,” said Small.
The ban on the panic defense strategy has been passed by lawmakers in 15 states, the most recent being Virginia, where it awaits the governor’s signature.
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