An Act Regarding Criminal Procedure with Respect to Allowable Defenses
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1632
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: WARREN, CHENETTE, FECTEAU, HICKMAN, HOBBS, MOONEN, PEBWORTH, RECKITT
Amends: 17-A MRSA §38, 17-A MRSA §108, 17-A MRSA §201

Legislative Document
No. 1632
H.P. 1175
House of Representatives, April 25, 2019
An Act Regarding Criminal Procedure with Respect to Allowable 
Defenses
Reference to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered 
printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative WARREN of Hallowell.
Cosponsored by Senator CHENETTE of York and
Representatives: FECTEAU of Biddeford, HICKMAN of Winthrop, HOBBS of Wells, 
McLEAN of Gorham, MOONEN of Portland, PEBWORTH of Blue Hill, RECKITT of South 
Portland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  17-A MRSA §38, as enacted by PL 1981, c. 324, §14, is amended by 
adding at the end a new paragraph to read:
An actor does not suffer from an abnormal condition of the mind based solely on the 
discovery of, knowledge about or potential disclosure of the victim's actual or perceived 
gender, gender identity, gender expression or sexual orientation, including under 
circumstances in which the victim made an unwanted nonforcible romantic or sexual 
advance toward the actor or in which the actor and victim dated or had a romantic or 
sexual relationship.
Sec. 2.  17-A MRSA §108, sub-§3 is enacted to read:
3.  A person is not justified in using force against another based solely on the 
discovery of, knowledge about or potential disclosure of the victim's actual or perceived 
gender, gender identity, gender expression or sexual orientation, including under 
circumstances in which the victim made an unwanted nonforcible romantic or sexual 
advance toward the person or in which the person and victim dated or had a romantic or 
sexual relationship.
Sec. 3.  17-A MRSA §201, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2001, c. 383, §8 and 
affected by §156, is further amended to read:
4.    For purposes of subsection 3, provocation is adequate if: 
A.  It is not induced by the person; and
B.  It is reasonable for the person to react to the provocation with extreme anger or 
extreme fear, provided that evidence demonstrating only that the person has a 
tendency towards extreme anger or extreme fear is not sufficient, in and of itself, to 
establish the reasonableness of the person's reaction.
For purposes of determining whether extreme anger or extreme fear was brought about by 
adequate provocation, the provocation was not adequate if it resulted solely from the 
discovery of, knowledge about or potential disclosure of the victim's actual or perceived 
gender, gender identity, gender expression or sexual orientation, including under 
circumstances in which the victim made an unwanted nonforcible romantic or sexual 
advance toward the person or in which the person and victim dated or had a romantic or 
sexual relationship.
SUMMARY
This bill prohibits the use of what is referred to as the "gay and trans panic defense."
The bill provides that when considering whether a defendant has an abnormal 
condition of the mind in determining whether a requisite culpable mental state exists in 
the defendant, a determination of abnormal condition of the mind may not be based on 
the defendant's discovery of, knowledge about or potential disclosure of the victim's 
actual or perceived gender, gender identity, gender expression or sexual orientation, 
including under circumstances in which the victim made an unwanted nonforcible 
romantic or sexual advance toward the defendant or under circumstances in which the 
defendant and victim dated or had a romantic or sexual relationship.
The bill excludes from the affirmative defense for murder that the defendant acted on 
the basis of extreme anger or extreme fear based on provocation by prohibiting the 
alleged cause of provocation from being solely from the discovery of, knowledge about 
or potential disclosure of the victim's actual or perceived gender, gender identity, gender 
expression or sexual orientation, including under circumstances in which the victim made 
an unwanted nonforcible romantic or sexual advance toward the defendant or under 
circumstances in which the defendant and victim dated or had a romantic or sexual 
relationship.
The bill provides that a person's discovery of, knowledge about or potential 
disclosure of the victim's actual or perceived gender, gender identity, gender expression 
or sexual orientation, including under circumstances in which the victim made an 
unwanted nonforcible romantic or sexual advance toward the defendant or under 
circumstances in which the defendant and victim dated or had a romantic or sexual 
relationship, may not be used as the sole justification for the use of force against the 
victim.