Earlier this year, the NH House of Representatives passed an amended version of HB 315, prohibiting provocations based on a victim’s actual or perceived gender, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation from being used as a defense in a criminal case.
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While the original text of this bill was framed as a prohibition against the so-called, “gay panic defense,” in reality, it would have promoted sexual harassment by removing any ability for a woman on trial for murder to claim that she acted in self-defense against unwanted romantic or sexual advances. Thankfully, the amended version of the bill remedied this while serving the bill’s stated purpose. However, this past week, the Senate amended and passed the original text of the bill, returning it to its pro-sexual harassment form. The bill will now return to the House to be voted on once again in its original form.
If this bill were truly about protecting homosexual men from hate crimes, then the bipartisan version passed by both the House Criminal Justice Committee and by voice vote in the NH House would have been acceptable, as it contains language prohibiting provocations based on sexual identity from being used as a defense in cases of manslaughter. However, the bill was amended to again contain language which protects and facilitates aggressive “sexual advances.” As a consequence those who would be most hurt if HB 315 passed in its present form would not be heterosexual men who killed homosexual men, as those pushing the bill would have you believe, but women who defended themselves from the predatory behavior of straight men. It is evident that the impetus behind the bill is to erode the safety and dignity of women, and to promote sexual harassment.
In light of this, Cornerstone strongly opposes HB 315 as amended by the Senate. Please call or email your representatives and urge them to vote against HB 315 as amended by the Senate.
