In final days of session, Legislature passes two LGBTQ laws battling homophobia
By Ali Hibbs Albany, N.Y. — On June 19, in the last days of the 2019 legislative session, state lawmakers in both chambers passed a law that would close a legal defense loophole by which defendants accused of murder could attempt to justify their actions to a jury by claiming that discovering that the victim was gay or trans caused them “extreme emotional disturbance.” “The gay/trans ‘panic’ defense