The new law is an instruction to courts that panic cannot be used as defense for crimes against LGBTQ people. Whitmer press secretary Stacey LaRouche says the governor has already signed laws to expand Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include LGBTQ protections and to outlaw conversion therapy for minors.
“No one should be targeted for something like their gender identity, gender expression or sexual orientation.”
The controversy over the “gay panic” defense dates back to 1995 and the murder of Scott Amedure by a friend in Lake Orion. Amedure had confessed to a crush on the friend in an appearance on a tabloid TV show. The friend who shot him was charged with first-degree murder but convicted of the lesser offense of second-degree murder.