Gay and trans panic defenses continue to be used in court cases in many US states
Gay and trans panic defenses first appeared in court cases in the 1960s and continue to be raised in criminal trials today. In these cases, defendants have argued that their violent behavior was a rational response to discovering by surprise that the victim was LGBTQ. Our new report examines current research on violence against LGBTQ people in the U.S. and the use of the gay and trans panic defenses over the last six decades. It also provides model language that states may use to ban the gay and trans panic defenses through legislation
Currently, 12 states and the District of Columbia have passed legislation eliminating the use of gay and trans panic defenses, but the defenses remain available in most states.
HUD announces equal access to housing facilities for transgender people
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that it is withdrawing a rule proposed by the Trump administration that would have rolled back protections from gender identity discrimination in homeless shelters and other HUD-funded facilities.
Williams Institute research finds that LGBT people—especially youth—are significantly overrepresented among those who are homeless or unstably housed. An estimated 17% of LGB adults and 30% of transgender adults have experienced homelessness at some point in their lives, compared to 6% of the general population. Our 2020 report found 8% of transgender adults had experienced homelessness in the past year, compared to 3% of non-transgender LGB people and 1% of cisgender, heterosexual adults. LGBTQ youth make up 22% of homeless youth.
20TH ANNIVERSARY EVENT SERIES
Please join us next Thursday, April 29, for a discussion on the policies and actions of the Biden administration in its first 100 days and what remains to be done. The event is co-hosted by the Williams Institute, the African American Policy Forum, and UCLA Law's Critical Race Studies Program.
Esther Rothblum honored by the American Psychological Association
This month, Williams Institute Distinguished Visiting Scholar Esther D. Rothblum received the Carolyn Wood Sherif Award from the American Psychological Association's Society for the Psychology of Women. The award honors Esther's sustained and substantial contribution to research on the psychology of women and gender.
Esther will present the Sherif Memorial Lecture at the APA convention next year.
