Once again I find myself changing the theme of today’s post after having read something elsewhere that just riles me so much.

This post about the “Gay and Trans Panic Defense” which is available over most of the USA made me absolutely furious.

Not being an American I’d not heard of the “Panic Defense” before, and what an utter abomination of the legal system it is!

I would think that as a general rule of thumb one would be able to say that someone would be at LESS risk of harm when encountering anyone from the LGBT community simply because, being from a group which is constantly being persecuted by so many ignorant people, as a community we have a greater respect for the rights of the individual in society.

Sure the bigots will say “Well what about this guy who got unwelcome advances from that trans/gay guy”, but isolated incidents do not in themselves manufacture statistics, and I’m sure there are many more women out there who have received unwelcome advances from men in bars. Do they also have the right to claim a “Panic Defense” if they waste him purely because he made unwanted advances?

Don’t get me wrong here, I DO believe in someones’s right to self defense, say where one encounters a burglar in their home and uses whatever force is at their disposal to protect themselves and their property, but that is because a crime has ALREADY been committed.

Ridiculous laws such as the “Gay and Trans Panic Defense” however are an example of what happens when ultra-conservative politicians and law makers get elected, and should serve as a warning to everyone when thinking of casting their vote.

It is NOT a crime to be who you are, but murdering someone simply for who they are most certainly is!

NO defense … NO excuses!!