A. It shall not be a defense, justification or excuse in a criminal proceeding that the defendant‘s conduct was a reaction to the discovery of, knowledge about or potential disclosure of a victim’s or witness’s actual or perceived:

Ask a criminal law question, get an answer ASAP!
Click here to chat with a criminal defense lawyer and protect your rights.

(1)     gender;

(2)     gender expression; (3)     gender identity; or (4)     sexual orientation.

B. It shall not be a defense, justification or excuse in a criminal proceeding that the defendant was romantically propositioned in a nonviolent or non-threatening manner by a person of the same gender or a person who is transgender.

C. Nothing in this section shall prevent a defendant from raising other recognized affirmative defense.

D. As used in this section:

(1)     “gender expression” means the external appearance of a person’s gender identity, often expressed through the person’s behavior, physical appearance or voice, which expression may or may not conform to socially defined behaviors and characteristics typically associated with masculinity or femininity;

(2)     “gender identity” means a person’s self-perception, or perception of that person by another, of the person’s identity as a male or female based upon the person’s appearance, behavior or physical characteristics that are in accord with or opposed to the person’s physical anatomy, chromosomal sex or sex at birth; and

(3)     “sexual orientation” means heterosexuality, homosexuality or bisexuality, whether actual or perceived.