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  Avg rating: (+5/-12 -7)

  TimALoftis

  July 23, 2006, 11:03 a.m.

  good article scott.

  I guess the question is if 'Gay panic' is real or is it just nothing more than 'Hate'. I know one thing, based on the article these people are getting away with murder.
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  Avg rating: (+0/-0 0)

  TheLegendary

  July 23, 2006, 2:10 p.m.

  There is no such thing as Gay Panic. Everyone has the right to say "Not Interested" or "****** off". That anyone in this day and age can claim they are afraid of gay men, with their visability in the media, is insane. Does the gay basher think Elton John is going to beat him tp a pulp with his purse or magically turn gay? It's like the recent Howard Beach incident where white guys beat a black kid with a bat and said it wasn't a hate crime. A few years ago a black kid got away with beating a priest to death claiming 'gay panic" (Did he think he was getting into the priest's car for confession?) The point a few weeks later the kid murdered someone else! It's the citizenry (potential juries) that need the education.
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  Avg rating: (+20/-2 18)

  1-2-Oscar

  July 23, 2006, 7:36 p.m.

  There is nothing particularly new about the "gay panic" defense. Accused criminals have for years tried to shift responsibility for their actions to their victims. The most common example has been the "she had it coming" rape defense, in which the perpetrator claims that his victim "lured" him into a violent sexual assault. That sort of justification was bogus, and this new variation is equally bogus.
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  Avg rating: (+10/-0 10)

  aa7705

  July 28, 2006, 1:37 p.m.

  The fact that "gay-panic" was ever used as a defense represents how screwed up some of this nation is. The "gay-panic" defense can be equated to someone saying, "I was scared, so I get a free pass to do anything I want." This is total bs, and it is shamefully unamerican.
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  Avg rating: (+11/-0 11)

  rabid-badger

  April 20, 2007, 1:55 p.m.

  As someone whose youngest son is gay, I find it hard to believe that anyone in their right mind would still believe that 'gay panic' is any sort of defense at all.

  Of course, when my son finally came out, he lost a fair amount of guys he'd considered friends, even though he'd known he was gay since he was around 12, and they'd never had any problem being around him as long as they didn't actually KNOW he was gay.

  I can only gather they assumed it was somehow contagious. I suggested to him that he point out that his older (by 15 minutes) twin brother has lived in close proximity to him his entire life (much closer than any of his friends), and he has yet to 'catch being gay' despite 26 years of continued exposure.

  Some people, alas, are just plain stupid.

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