Senate Bill 704 into law on Sunday (May 23).It becomes the 14th state to do so, following in the footsteps: California, Illinois, Rhode Island, Nevada, Hawaii, Maine, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Washington, Colorado, Virginia, and Vermont.Washington DC has also enacted legislation banning the defense.The so-called ‘panic’ defense is used by some people who have murdered members of the LGBTQ community.Those charged with such crimes will sometimes say their victim made a pass at them and they reacted violently in response.
By doing so, they have sometimes seen a murder charge reduced to manslaughter.Advocates have long argued that this shifts some of the blame for the crime to the victim, or affords them less justice than if they had.