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| 3 | 3 | | HB 137 2024 |
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| 7 | 7 | | CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. |
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| 8 | 8 | | hb0137-00 |
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| 9 | 9 | | Page 1 of 2 |
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| 10 | 10 | | F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S |
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| 13 | 13 | | |
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| 14 | 14 | | A bill to be entitled 1 |
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| 15 | 15 | | An act relating to gay and transgender panic legal 2 |
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| 16 | 16 | | defenses; providing a short title; providing 3 |
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| 17 | 17 | | legislative findings; creating s. 900.06, F.S.; 4 |
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| 18 | 18 | | defining terms; prohibiting individuals from using a 5 |
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| 19 | 19 | | nonviolent sexual advance or specified perceptions or 6 |
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| 20 | 20 | | beliefs about another individual as a defense to a 7 |
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| 21 | 21 | | criminal offense, to excuse or justify an individual's 8 |
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| 22 | 22 | | conduct, or to mitigate the severity of an offense; 9 |
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| 23 | 23 | | providing an effective date. 10 |
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| 24 | 24 | | 11 |
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| 25 | 25 | | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 12 |
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| 26 | 26 | | 13 |
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| 27 | 27 | | Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Gay and 14 |
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| 28 | 28 | | Transgender Panic Legal Defenses Prohibition Act." 15 |
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| 29 | 29 | | Section 2. The Legislature finds that gay and transgender 16 |
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| 30 | 30 | | panic legal defenses raised in criminal proceedings characterize 17 |
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| 31 | 31 | | sexual orientation and gender expression or gender identity as 18 |
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| 32 | 32 | | objectively reasonable excuses for a perpetrator's loss of self -19 |
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| 33 | 33 | | control, and that these defenses thereby illegitimat ely attempt 20 |
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| 34 | 34 | | to mitigate the responsibility of the perpetrator for harm done 21 |
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| 35 | 35 | | to lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender individuals. 22 |
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| 36 | 36 | | Section 3. Section 900.06, Florida Statutes, is created to 23 |
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| 37 | 37 | | read: 24 |
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| 38 | 38 | | 900.06 Use of gay and transgender panic legal defenses 25 |
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| 40 | 40 | | HB 137 2024 |
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| 42 | 42 | | |
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| 43 | 43 | | |
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| 44 | 44 | | CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. |
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| 45 | 45 | | hb0137-00 |
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| 46 | 46 | | Page 2 of 2 |
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| 47 | 47 | | F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S |
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| 51 | 51 | | prohibited.— 26 |
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| 52 | 52 | | (1) As used in this section, the term: 27 |
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| 53 | 53 | | (a) "Gender expression" or "gender identity" means gender -28 |
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| 54 | 54 | | related identity, appearance, or behavior, regardless of whether 29 |
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| 55 | 55 | | such gender-related identity, appearance, or behavior is 30 |
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| 56 | 56 | | different from that traditionally associated with a person's 31 |
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| 57 | 57 | | physiology or assigned sex at birth. 32 |
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| 58 | 58 | | (b) "Sexual orientation" means an individual's actual or 33 |
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| 59 | 59 | | perceived heterosexuality, homosexuality, or bisexuality. 34 |
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| 60 | 60 | | (2) A nonviolent sexual advance or the perception or 35 |
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| 61 | 61 | | belief, even if inaccurate, of the sex, sexual orientation, 36 |
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| 62 | 62 | | gender expression, or gender identity of an individual may not 37 |
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| 63 | 63 | | be used as a defense to a criminal offense, to excuse or to 38 |
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| 64 | 64 | | justify the conduct of an individual who commits a criminal 39 |
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| 65 | 65 | | offense, or to mitigate the severity of a criminal offense 40 |
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| 66 | 66 | | during sentencing. 41 |
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| 67 | 67 | | Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 42 |
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