Hate Crimes against Homosexuals and"Gay Panic" can not coexist

If this country is truly going to classify killing Gay/Lesbian people just because they are gay/lesbians and placing them under Hate Crime Legislature, they first must wipe out the "Gay Panic" defense used by so many defendants that are arrested for the murder of a Gay/Lesbian person. These two ideas simply can not coexist.

In the murder of Rowland Hardwick, of Georgia, his attacker stabbed him 40 times. His defense team tried and successfully told the jury that Rowland had a knife and was threatening to rape their client, James Lee Shaw. They were at a restaurant. Mr. Shaw did not have any defensive marks that showed he had a struggle with Mr. Hardwick. He simply killed him unmercifully for possibly making a pass.

The defense went on to further say that their client had been molested by men several times in his youth and he had a "Flashback". Yeah, right!!!!!!!

The only way to protect gays and lesbians under a Hate Crime Legislature is to do away with the "Gay Panic" defense.