Text of US HB 4197 (2025)

I 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 Com- mittee 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 Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘LGBTQ+ Panic De- 4 fense Prohibition Act of 2025’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:05 Jul 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4197.IH H4197 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 4197 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds that— 2 (1) the American Bar Association has urged the 3 Federal Government to take legislative action to cur- 4 tail the availability and effectiveness of the legal de- 5 fenses that seek to partially or completely excuse 6 crimes such as murder and assault on the grounds 7 that the sexual orientation or gender identity of the 8 victim is provocation enough for the violent reaction 9 of the defendant; 10 (2) panic defenses based on sexual orientation 11 or gender identity or expression, which continue to 12 be raised in criminal proceedings in Federal courts 13 across the United States, are surprisingly long-lived 14 historical artifacts, remnants of a time when wide- 15 spread public antipathy was the norm for lesbian, 16 gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (referred to in 17 this Act as ‘‘LGBTQ’’) individuals; 18 (3) panic defenses based on sexual orientation 19 or gender identity or expression characterize sexual 20 orientation and gender identity or expression as ob- 21 jectively reasonable excuses for loss of self-control, 22 and thereby illegitimately mitigate the responsibility 23 of a perpetrator for harm done to LGBTQ individ- 24 uals; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:05 Jul 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4197.IH H4197 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 4197 IH (4) panic defenses based on sexual orientation 1 or gender identity or expression appeal to irrational 2 fears and hatred of LGBTQ individuals, thereby un- 3 dermining the legitimacy of Federal criminal pros- 4 ecutions and resulting in unjustifiable acquittals or 5 sentencing reductions; 6 (5) the use of panic defenses based on sexual 7 orientation or gender identity or expression is en- 8 tirely incompatible with the express intent of Fed- 9 eral law to provide increased protection to victims of 10 bias-motivated crimes, including crimes committed 11 against LGBTQ individuals; 12 (6) continued use of these anachronistic de- 13 fenses reinforces and institutionalizes prejudice at 14 the expense of norms of self-control, tolerance, and 15 compassion, which the law should encourage, and 16 marks an egregious lapse in the march of the United 17 States toward a more just criminal justice system; 18 and 19 (7) to end the antiquated notion that LGBTQ 20 lives are worth less than others and to reflect mod- 21 ern understanding of LGBTQ individuals as equal 22 citizens under law, panic defenses based on sexual 23 orientation or gender identity or expression must 24 end. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:05 Jul 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4197.IH H4197 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 4197 IH SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON PANIC DEFENSES BASED ON SEX- 1 UAL ORIENTATION OR GENDER IDENTITY OR 2 EXPRESSION. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 18, United 4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 5 lowing: 6 ‘‘§ 28. Prohibition on panic defenses based on sexual 7 orientation or gender identity or expres- 8 sion 9 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—No nonviolent sexual advance or 10 perception or belief, even if inaccurate, of the gender, gen- 11 der identity or expression, or sexual orientation of an indi- 12 vidual may be used to excuse or justify the conduct of an 13 individual or mitigate the severity of an offense. 14 ‘‘(b) PAST TRAUMA.—Notwithstanding the prohibi- 15 tion in subsection (a), a court may admit evidence, in ac- 16 cordance with the Federal Rules of Evidence, of prior 17 trauma to the defendant for the purpose of excusing or 18 justifying the conduct of the defendant or mitigating the 19 severity of an offense.’’. 20 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 21 The table of sections for chapter 1 of title 18, United 22 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 23 lowing: 24 ‘‘28. Prohibition on panic defenses based on sexual orientation or gender iden- tity or expression.’’. VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:05 Jul 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H4197.IH H4197 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 4197 IH (c) REPORT.—The Attorney General shall submit to 1 Congress an annual report that details prosecutions in 2 Federal court involving capital and noncapital crimes com- 3 mitted against LGBTQ individuals that were motivated by 4 the victim’s gender, gender identity or expression, or sex- 5 ual orientation. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:05 Jul 03, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4197.IH H4197 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB