HB 1235 2025
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1235-00
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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
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to gay and transgender panic legal 2
defenses; providing a short title; providing 3
legislative findings; creating s. 900.06, F.S.; 4
defining terms; prohibiting individuals from using a 5
nonviolent sexual advance or specified perceptions or 6
beliefs about another individual as a defense to a 7
criminal offense, to excuse or justify an individual's 8
conduct, or to mitigate the severity of an offense; 9
providing an effective date. 10
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 12
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Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Gay and 14
Transgender Panic Legal Defenses Prohibition Act." 15
Section 2. The Legislature finds that gay and transgender 16
panic legal defenses raised in criminal proceedings characterize 17
sexual orientation and gender expression or gender identity as 18
objectively reasonable excuses for a perpetrator's loss of self -19
control, and that these defenses thereby illegitimat ely attempt 20
to mitigate the responsibility of the perpetrator for harm done 21
to lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender individuals. 22
Section 3. Section 900.06, Florida Statutes, is created to 23
read: 24
900.06 Use of gay and transgender panic legal defenses 25
HB 1235 2025
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1235-00
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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
prohibited.— 26
(1) As used in this section, the term: 27
(a) "Gender expression" or "gender identity" means gender -28
related identity, appearance, or behavior, regardless of whether 29
such gender-related identity, appearance, or behavior is 30
different from that traditionally associated with a person's 31
physiology or assigned sex at birth. 32
(b) "Sexual orientation" means an individual's actual or 33
perceived heterosexuality, homosexuality, or bisexuality. 34
(2) A nonviolent sexual advance or the perception or 35
belief, even if inaccurate, of the sex, sexual orientation, 36
gender expression, or gender identity of an individual may not 37
be used as a defense to a criminal offense, to excuse or to 38
justify the conduct of an individual who commits a criminal 39
offense, or to mitigate the severity of a criminal offense 40
during sentencing. 41
Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 42