119-hr4197

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4197 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

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119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 4197

 To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit defenses based on 
 sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 June 26, 2025

Mr. Pappas (for himself, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Crockett, Mr. Casten, Mr. 
 Davis of Illinois, Mrs. Sykes, Ms. Strickland, Mr. Takano, Ms. 
McClellan, Ms. Brownley, Mr. Kennedy of New York, Ms. Davids of Kansas, 
 Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Williams of Georgia, Mr. Moulton, Mr. 
Deluzio, Mr. Thanedar, Mr. McGarvey, Mr. Mullin, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Green 
 of Texas, Mr. Peters, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Garamendi, Mr. Huffman, Mr. 
 Tonko, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Frost, Mrs. Foushee, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. 
 Krishnamoorthi, Mr. Correa, and Mr. Sherman) introduced the following 
 bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit defenses based on 
 sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``LGBTQ+ Panic Defense Prohibition Act 
of 2025''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

 Congress finds that--

    (1) the American Bar Association has urged the Federal 
 Government to take legislative action to curtail the 
 availability and effectiveness of the legal defenses that seek 
 to partially or completely excuse crimes such as murder and 
 assault on the grounds that the sexual orientation or gender 
 identity of the victim is provocation enough for the violent 
 reaction of the defendant;

    (2) panic defenses based on sexual orientation or gender 
 identity or expression, which continue to be raised in criminal 
 proceedings in Federal courts across the United States, are 
 surprisingly long-lived historical artifacts, remnants of a 
 time when widespread public antipathy was the norm for lesbian, 
 gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (referred to in this Act 
 as ``LGBTQ'') individuals;

    (3) panic defenses based on sexual orientation or gender 
 identity or expression characterize sexual orientation and 
 gender identity or expression as objectively reasonable excuses 
 for loss of self-control, and thereby illegitimately mitigate 
 the responsibility of a perpetrator for harm done to LGBTQ 
 individuals;

    (4) panic defenses based on sexual orientation or gender 
 identity or expression appeal to irrational fears and hatred of 
 LGBTQ individuals, thereby undermining the legitimacy of 
 Federal criminal prosecutions and resulting in unjustifiable 
 acquittals or sentencing reductions;

    (5) the use of panic defenses based on sexual orientation 
 or gender identity or expression is entirely incompatible with 
 the express intent of Federal law to provide increased 
 protection to victims of bias-motivated crimes, including 
 crimes committed against LGBTQ individuals;

    (6) continued use of these anachronistic defenses 
 reinforces and institutionalizes prejudice at the expense of 
 norms of self-control, tolerance, and compassion, which the law 
 should encourage, and marks an egregious lapse in the march of 
 the United States toward a more just criminal justice system; 
 and

    (7) to end the antiquated notion that LGBTQ lives are worth 
 less than others and to reflect modern understanding of LGBTQ 
 individuals as equal citizens under law, panic defenses based 
 on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression must 
 end.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON PANIC DEFENSES BASED ON SEXUAL ORIENTATION OR 
 GENDER IDENTITY OR EXPRESSION.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 1 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``

Sec. 28. Prohibition on panic defenses based on sexual orientation or 
 gender identity or expression
 ``

    (a) Prohibition.--No nonviolent sexual advance or perception or 
belief, even if inaccurate, of the gender, gender identity or 
expression, or sexual orientation of an individual may be used to 
excuse or justify the conduct of an individual or mitigate the severity 
of an offense.
 ``

    (b) Past Trauma.--Notwithstanding the prohibition in subsection

    (a) , a court may admit evidence, in accordance with the Federal Rules 
of Evidence, of prior trauma to the defendant for the purpose of 
excusing or justifying the conduct of the defendant or mitigating the 
severity of an offense.''.

    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
chapter 1 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following:

``28. Prohibition on panic defenses based on sexual orientation or 
 gender identity or expression.''.
            (c) Report.--The Attorney General shall submit to Congress an 
annual report that details prosecutions in Federal court involving 
capital and noncapital crimes committed against LGBTQ individuals that 
were motivated by the victim's gender, gender identity or expression, 
or sexual orientation.
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