Murder verdicts a blow to 'gay panic' defense

[kweerwolf]

In the early hours of Oct. 4, 2002, 17-year-old Gwen Araujo was punched, gashed, choked, tied up and strangled.

And that, a jury decided, was murder, despite defense claims Araujo provoked the attack by not telling her male companions — and occasional sex partners — that she was biologically a man.

The verdicts, which follow murder convictions in the beating death of gay college student Matthew Shepard as well as those in the murder of Brandon Teena, whose story was told in the movie "Boys Don't Cry," may suggest a shift in societal attitudes.

Getting murder convictions is still tough; defendants continue to use "gay panic" or "trans panic" defenses, and often avoid more serious charges in such killings.

http://www.nyblade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=2523

It's about friggin' time courts and juries wised up to this bogus defense tactic! If the 'phobes can use the gay panic defense, does that mean a straight woman would be justified in blowing away some drunk guy who hits on her at a bar? I was exposed to the toxic waste dump of fun-D'uh-MENTAL-ism growing up and have a strong revulsion for it, so would I have been justified in taking a 2x4 to the head of the first fundie who asked me if I "knew Jesus as my personal lord and saviour"?

[bluedawg12]

1. Sometimes truth wins out.

All though the idea of a fundy panic attack is real.

Fundybots.