New Jersey State Capitol – Photo: Smallbones, via Wikimedia.
The New Jersey State Assembly voted last week to prohibit the use of “gay panic” or “trans panic” defenses in murder cases.
The Democrat-run lower house voted 73-0 to pass the bill, which prevents defendants — and their attorneys — from downgrading charges of murder to manslaughter by arguing that fear or anger at discovering a victim’s LGBTQ identity was justification for them to act out violently.
“Nobody should ever be excused for murder because their victim is either gay or transgender,” Michele Jaker, a board member for Garden State Equality, told NJTV News.
“We consider it legal malpractice when it comes up,” Jaker said of the defense. “But when you have an attorney whose client is being accused of murder, you will look for any defense that can be used. So we would like to see it off the books.”
Assemblyman John McKeon (D-West Orange), the bill’s sponsor, compared the bill’s passage to other pro-LGBTQ developments, including the legislature’s approval of civil unions, the legalization of marriage equality, and the passage of a bill banning conversion therapy, calling it a “proud moment” for New Jersey.
The bill also got the stamp of approval from Minority Leader Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield), who called it a “significant piece of legislation.”
The bill now heads to the Senate, where it is expected to be approved, and then to the desk of Gov. Phil Murphy (D), who is expected to sign it into law.
The bill was first introduced in New Jersey in 2014, during the administration of former Gov. Chris Christie (R), but never received a full vote.
The American Bar Association, which has endorsed eliminating the use of the “gay panic” defense, says that eight states — California, Illinois, Rhode Island, Nevada, Connecticut, Maine, Hawaii, and New York — have already banned the practice, which it calls a form of discrimination, and hopes other states will follow suit.
“It must be noted that gay/trans panic is not an affirmative legal defense; it is a tactic to strengthen the defense by playing on prejudice,” the ABA said in a statement earlier this summer. “It has, however, been used to not only explain a defendant’s actions, but to excuse them as well.”
Edgar Arrington was arrested and appeared in D.C. Superior Court on September 18, where Magistrate Judge Heide Herrmann found probable cause that he committed first-degree murder while armed in the July 5 shooting of 28-year-old transgender woman Dream Johnson.
Herrmann also approved a hate crime enhancement, allowing prosecutors to argue that Arrington's actions were driven, at least in part, by hostility to Johnson's gender identity. She ordered the 38-year-old held without bond pending a preliminary hearing before Judge Danya Dayson on October 7.
Jack Ciattarelli, a former state lawmaker and the Republican nominee for New Jersey governor, recently aired a digital ad attacking Democratic opponent U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill for backing the state’s LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum standards. Established under a 2019 law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy (D), the standards require middle and high school students to learn about the political, economic, and social contributions of LGBTQ people and people with disabilities.
The premise behind the law is based on the belief that teaching students about figures like Bayard Rustin, Harvey Milk, and Alan Turing helps reduce bullying of LGBTQ and gender-nonconforming peers.
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