Activists want states to copy Illinois’ ban of "gay panic defense"

Starting in January, Illinois will bar a rare criminal defense allowing the use of a victim's sexual orientation as justification for violent crime, a ban gay rights advocates say they will attempt to replicate in about half a dozen states next year. Defense attorneys will no longer be able to mount the so-called "gay panic defense" in Illinois, the second state after California to prohibit the tactic. There are variations, but the defense argument generally goes like this: A person doesn't realize someone is gay or transgender and engages in a flirtation...

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