(a) “Gay and transgender panic legal defense” means a legal strategy that asks a judge or a jury to find that a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity is the cause of the defendant’s reaction and commission of a criminal offense.
(b) “Gender expression” or “gender identity” means gender-related identity, appearance, or behavior, regardless of whether such gender-related identity, appearance, or behavior is different from that traditionally associated with a person’s physiology or assigned sex at birth.
(c) “Sexual orientation” means an individual’s actual or perceived heterosexuality, homosexuality, or bisexuality.
(4) PROHIBITION ON GAY AND TRANSGENDER PANIC LEGAL DEFENSES.—A nonviolent sexual advance or the perception or belief, even if inaccurate, of the sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, or gender identity of an individual may not be used as a defense to a criminal offense, to excuse or to justify the conduct of an individual who commits a criminal offense, or to mitigate the severity of a criminal offense during sentencing.
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
