Gay and Transgender Panic Legal Defenses Prohibition Act (FL SB 156, 2024)

• Prohibits the use of "gay and transgender panic" as a legal defense to criminal offenses in Florida, including as justification, excuse, or mitigation of severity during sentencing
• Bars defendants from citing a nonviolent sexual advance, or their perception or belief about another person's sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, or gender identity, as a defense to criminal charges
• Defines "gender expression" or "gender identity" as gender-related identity, appearance, or behavior, regardless of whether it differs from that traditionally associated with a person's physiology or assigned sex at birth
• Legislative findings state that gay and transgender panic defenses illegitimately characterize sexual orientation and gender identity as objectively reasonable excuses for a perpetrator's loss of self-control, thereby mitigating responsibility for harm to LGBTQ individuals
• Sponsored by Senator Book with a proposed effective date of July 1, 2024