New York bans gay panic defense in murder cases
The legal tact, known as 'gay panic' or 'trans panic', has been used by lawyers in recent years, to win the jury's sympathy.
Democrat collector Daniel O'Donnell and state senator Brad Hoylman, both openly gay, suggested the ban. Both they and LGBTI activists have argued that the defense enshrines discriminatory rules in the law. Yesterday, New York lawmakers were expected to ban the practice. This made the state of New York the seventh state in the US to ban the defense.