Being none to familiar with the term “gay panic defense”, I looked it up and then talked to my Representative, Shaun Filiault later.
The definition first: “The gay panic defense or homosexual advance defense is a strategy of legal defense, referring to a situation in which a heterosexual individual, charged with a violent crime against a homosexual (or bisexual) individual, claims they lost control and reacted violently because of unwanted sexual advances made upon them. A defendant will use available legal defenses against assault and murder, with the aim of seeking an acquittal, a mitigated sentence, or a conviction of a lesser offense. A defendant may allege to have found the same-sex sexual advances so offensive or frightening that they were provoked into reacting, were acting in self-defense, were of diminished capacity, or were temporarily insane, and that this circumstance is exculpatory or mitigating.”
According to The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law gay and trans panic defenses have been appearing in public court opinions in roughly half the states since the 1960s. As an example, in 104 cases, murder charges were reduced about 33% of the time for defendants using this particular defense. This usually resulted in shorter prison time and some ended in aquittals. Well, who knew?
In 2013, the American Bar Association denounced gay and trans panic defenses, noting gay panic is not recognized as a mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association.
Then I had a conversation with Shaun who further enlightened me.
In 2021, Rep. Joshua Query (D) introduced HB238, “This bill is entirely constitutional, does not dismiss traditional self-defense lawsuits, and does not deny existing due process defenses. This legislation will correct a dangerous and life-threatening oversight that is needed to protect the safety of LGBTQ+ people in New Hampshire.” The bill passed the House but not in the Senate.
When the House seat in Keene’s Ward 2 was up for election, Filiault found the defeat of that bill motivation to run. He tirelessly went door-to-door, talking to voters, asking for their votes.
He ultimately won the election. The first bill Filiault filed as a new Representative was HB315 which was, in a nutshell, to abolish the gay panic defense. Through hard work and perseverance, he was able to get it through the House Criminal Justice Committee. However, as with all things political, compromise was expected.
An amendment was proposed and accepted to change the original bill to include what basically amounted to “all lives matter.” The bill passed as amended, then placed on the House Consent Calendar. While Filiault acknowledges the amended bill is not a bad thing, he feels it diluted the message of his original bill.
The Senate Judiciary Committee then received the bill and voted 3-2 for the full Senate to “kill the bill” or Inexpedient to Legislate. Not willing to see his bill die on the Senate floor, Filiault got to work contacting all Republican Senators urging them to support his bill. According to Filiault, “Defeat wasn't an option. Not this year. Not in this environment which is so hostile to LGBTQ people. A loss would cost lives.” The Senate vote on HB315 was then delayed for a week, along with three other bills.
During that week’s reprieve, Filiault reached out to Sen. Daryl Abbas (R) who had previously voted in favor of abolishing gay panic defense. Now we need to back up a little . . .
In January, Abbas introduced a bill, CACR9, into the Senate. This bill is designed to amend the state Constitution to enshrine the “first in the nation” presidential primary. It was “shelved” by the House Election Laws Committee. After being approached by Filiault about HB315, Abbas went to leaders in the House seeking to combine the two bills, his and Filiault’s.
Rep. Matt Wilhelm (D) who is on the Rules Committee did not want to go along with the offer. In response, rather than forfeit all the work that had been done to get his bill to the floor for a vote, Filiault became an Independent and pushed for it himself. How many of us would have had the courage of our convictions to go ahead and push for what we knew was right? On Thursday, June 8, the Senate voted to pass the bill as re-amended back to its original form by Sen. Sharon Carson (R), before being sent back to the House. On Thursday, June 15, the bill goes back to the House for it to “concur” on the Senate changes. According to Filiault that’s usually a “non-controversial voice vote”. The CACR9 was tabled and never got a yes or no vote.
“I guess in my very small way, pushing HB 315 over the finish line was my contribution to the legacy of Pride. In the end, it cost me more than I could ever know. And I'd do it all again in a heartbeat. It was all a labor of love.” Rep. Shaun Filiault (I)
According to the ACLU, the last few years have seen states advance a large number of bills attacking LGBTQ rights, especially transgender youth. The ACLU is tracking these attacks and working with our national network of affiliates to support LGBTQ people everywhere. To learn more about what the ACLU is doing on this issue: Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ Rights in U.S. State Legislatures | American Civil Liberties Union (aclu.org)