“The Governor of California has signed a law outlawing the use of the so-called ‘gay panic’ defense.

The defense – which is often used to get more lenient sentences for criminals after assaults and murders – is based around the claim that a perpetrator was “panicked” into committing a violent crime due to an unwanted advance from a gay person.

More recently, the panic defense has also been used to justify crimes against transgender people after discovering their gender identity.”

Read more from pinknews.co.uk here: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2014/09/28/california-governor-signs-law-outlawing-gay-panic-legal-defense/

Cenk Uygur (http://twitter.com/cenkuygur) and Ana Kasparian (http://www.twitter.com/anakasparian) of The Young Turks break down this decision by Governor Jerry Brown. Cenk and Ana also discuss situation in which this defense has been used in the past, including the Matthew Shepard case. Tell us what you think in the comment section below.