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The state is the first in the South to pass such a landmark anti-discrimination decision. The legal strategy allows accused individuals to blame their own violent reactions on “shock” at either being propositioned by someone who is LGBTQ+ or discovering their LGBTQ+ identity. Should Hogan sign the “panic” defense bill into law, Maryland would become the 13th state to prohibit criminal defendants from using the victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity to seek reduced sentencing or acquittal. “Passage of this bill sends a strong message that our LGBTQ+ identity should not be a defensible reason for assault or murder.” “To justify and excuse violence and murder as a result of the victim’s status as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer person is to deem LGBTQ+ lives as inherently less worthy, less human, and less deserving of justice as compared to those who do not identify as LGBTQ+,” said the organization’s director, D’Arcy Kemnitz, in a joint statement with FreeState Justice. They referred to the controversial legal tactic as “despicable,” claiming it is “solely designed to play into long-standing stigmas about and prejudices against the LGBTQ+ community.” for years, celebrated the bill’s passage in a statement. LGBTQ+ advocates, including the National LGBT Bar Association, which has been advocating for a ban of the LGBTQ+ “panic” defense across the U.S. The two bills now await Republican governor Larry Hogan’s signature. As the Washington Blade previously reported, one bans the LGBTQ+ “panic” defense, while the second makes it easier for trans people to change their names legally. The Maryland Legislature passed a package of groundbreaking legislation in one of its final acts before adjourning its 2021 session on Monday, including two historic pieces of pro-LGBTQ+ legislation.