States across the country banning LGBTQ+ 'panic defense'
To view legislation related to LGBTQ+ panic defenses (also known as "gay panic defenses"), click on a location on the map. The so-called "gay and trans panic" defenses are legal strategies which, according to the American Bar Association , "seek to partially or completely excuse crimes such as murder and assault on the grounds that the victim's sexual orientation or gender identity is to blame for the defendant's violent reaction. These defenses are based in irrational fears and prejudice toward LGBTQ people, and they imply that violence against LGBTQ people is acceptable or understandable under certain conditions. Gay/Trans Panic Defense Bans
State prohibits the use of legal defenses claiming the victim's sexual orientation and/or gender identity contributed to the defendant's actions (so-called "gay/trans panic" defenses) (20 states + D.C.). Carsten Andresen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. Carsten Andresen, a criminal justice scholar, has been building a database of murder cases that use the gay panic defense. 
Gay and trans panic defense still legal in most states
The gay panic defense or homosexual advance defense is a victim blaming strategy of legal defense, where a heterosexual individual charged with a violent crime against a same-sex attracted individual claims they lost control and reacted violently because of an unwanted sexual advance that was made upon them. [1] A defendant will use available legal defenses against assault and murder, with the. In , all states were pressured to do away with the outdated law; however, a majority of states refused to remove the bigoted legal strategy. In a report from the American Bar Association from , there were a variety of cases where the defense strategy was not only applied to the case but successfully used to reduce a sentence.
LGBTQ+ "Panic" Defense Legislation Map
In , the American Bar Association called in a proclamation for states to prohibit the gay and trans panic defenses. Since then, nine states have passed legislation prohibiting the gay panic. .
The Gay/Trans Panic Defense Law – ENGL 138 Civic Issue Blog
In many states across the country, there is a push to eliminate the so-called "panic defense." It is a legal defense used after committing a crime against someone because of their sexual identity. . 
Map
No state in the U.S. officially recognizes gay and trans panic defenses as standalone defenses in their penal codes. Instead, these defenses have been used to support arguments of provocation, diminished capacity, insanity, or self-defense (Williams Institute). But such defenses can reduce a defendant’s murder charges about one-third of the time. .
I track murder cases that use the ‘gay panic defense,’ a
In , all states were pressured to do away with the outdated law; however, a majority of states refused to remove the bigoted legal strategy. As of a report in , thirty states and five territories still uphold the Gay/Trans Panic defense laws, which include places like Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, Massachusetts, and even Pennsylvania. . The Gay/Trans Panic Defense
The final variation, of self-defense, claims that because of the victim's sexual orientation or gender identity, the victim must have been about to cause the defendant serious bodily harm. Despite debunking "gay panic disorder," and its removal from the DSM by the American Psychological Association in , legal defense teams continue to use it. .