Substitute Senate Bill No. 58
Public Act No. 19-27
AN ACT CONCERNING GA Y AND TRANSGENDER PA NIC
DEFENSE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 53a-13 of the general statutes is repealed and the
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2019):
(a) In any prosecution for an offense, it shall be an affirmative
defense that the defendant, at the time [he] the defendant committed
the proscribed act or acts, lacked substantial capacity, as a result of
mental disease or defect, either to appreciate the wrongfulness of his
conduct or to control his conduct within the requirements of the law.
(b) (1) It shall not be a defense under this section if such mental
disease or defect was proximately caused by the voluntary ingestion,
inhalation or injection of intoxicating liquor or any drug or substance,
or any combination thereof, unless such drug was prescribed for the
defendant by a prescribing practitioner, as defined in subdivision (22)
of section 20-571, and was used in accordance with the directions of
such prescription.
(2) No defendant may claim as a defense under this section that
such mental disease or defect was based solely on the discovery of,
knowledge about or potential disclosure of the victim's actual or Substitute Senate Bill No. 58
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perceived sex, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression,
including under circumstances in which the victim made an
unwanted, nonforcible, romantic or sexual advance toward the
defendant, or if the defendant and victim dated or had a romantic
relationship.
(c) As used in this section, (1) the terms mental disease or defect do
not include [(1)] (A) an abnormality manifested only by repeated
criminal or otherwise antisocial conduct, or [(2)] (B) pathological or
compulsive gambling, and (2) "gender identity or expression" means
gender identity or expression, as defined in section 53a-181i.
Sec. 2. Section 53a-16 of the general statutes is repealed and the
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2019):
In any prosecution for an offense, justification, as defined in sections
53a-17 to 53a-23, inclusive, shall be a defense. Justification as a defense
does not include provocation that resulted solely from the discovery
of, knowledge about or potential disclosure of the victim's actual or
perceived sex, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression,
including under circumstances in which the victim mad e an
unwanted, nonforcible, romantic or sexual advance toward the
defendant, or if the defendant and victim dated or had a romantic
relationship. As used in this section, "gender identity or expression"
means gender identity or expression, as defined in section 53a-181i.
Sec. 3. Section 53a-18 of the general statutes is repealed and the
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2019):
(a) The use of physical force upon another person which would
otherwise constitute an offense is justifiable and not criminal under
any of the following circumstances:
(1) A parent, guardian or other person entrusted with the care and
supervision of a minor or an incompetent person, except a person Substitute Senate Bill No. 58
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entrusted with the care and supervision of a minor for school purposes
as described in subdivision (6) of this section, may use reasonable
physical force upon such minor or incompetent person when and to
the extent that he or she reasonably believes such to be necessary to
maintain discipline or to promote the welfare of such minor or
incompetent person.
(2) An authorized official of a correctional institution or facility may,
in order to maintain order and discipline, use such physical force as is
reasonable and authorized by the rules and regulations of the
Department of Correction.
(3) A person responsible for the maintenance of order in a common
carrier of passengers, or a person acting under his or her direction,
may use reasonable physical force when and to the extent that he or
she reasonably believes such to be necessary to maintain order, but he
or she may use deadly physical force only when he or she reasonably
believes such to be necessary to prevent death or serious physical
injury.
(4) A person acting under a reasonable belief that another person is
about to commit suicide or to inflict serious physical injury upon
himself or herself may use reasonable physical force upon such person
to the extent that he or she reasonably believes such to be necessary to
thwart such result.
(5) A duly licensed physician or psychologist, or a person acting
under his or her direction, may use reasonable physical force for the
purpose of administering a recognized form of treatment which he or
she reasonably believes to be adapted to promoting the physical or
mental health of the patient, provided the treatment (A) is
administered with the consent of the patient or, if the patient is a
minor or an incompetent person, with the consent of his or her parent,
guardian or other person entrusted with his or her care and Substitute Senate Bill No. 58
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supervision, or (B) is administered in an emergency when the
physician or psychologist reasonably believes that no one competent to
consent can be consulted and that a reasonable person, wishing to
safeguard the welfare of the patient, would consent.
(6) A teacher or other person entrusted with the care and
supervision of a minor for school purposes may use reasonable
physical force upon such minor when and to the extent [he] such
teacher or other person reasonably believes such force to be necessary
to (A) protect himself or herself or others from immediate physical
injury, (B) obtain possession of a dangerous instrument or controlled
substance, as defined in subdivision (9) of section 21a-240, upon or
within the control of such minor, (C) protect property from physical
damage or (D) restrain such minor or remove such minor to another
area, to maintain order.
(b) No person is justified in using force upon another person which
would otherwise constitute an offense based solely on the discovery of,
knowledge about or potential disclosure of the victim's actual or
perceived sex, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression,
including under circumstances in which the victim made an
unwanted, nonforcible, romantic or sexual advance toward the
defendant, or if the defendant and victim dated or had a romantic
relationship.