New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy/photo by Carmen Natale/ALM

Gov. Phil Murphy on Tuesday signed a bill into law that makes New Jersey the ninth state to ban the use of the "gay or trans panic" legal defense in state courtrooms, where a defendant claims provocation by sudden revelation of the victim's sexual orientation or gender.

"We will always stand with our LGBTQ+ community and promote full equality for all our residents," Murphy said in a statement after he signed A-1796. "Gay and trans panic defenses are rooted in homophobia and abhorrent excuses that should never be used to justify violence against vulnerable populations. With this new law, we are enacting critical measures to protect our friends and neighbors in the LGBTQ+ community."

The new law becomes effective immediately and prohibits the use of the legal defense in homicide cases where a defendant claims provocation, or heat of passion, by sudden knowledge of the victim's sexual orientation or gender.

The Garden State joins New York, Hawaii, California, Rhode Island, Illinois, Nevada and Connecticut, which all have signed similar legislation into law.

Advocacy groups lauded Murphy's signing of the New Jersey bill.

"Make no mistake, the 'panic' defense is flat-out discriminatory legal malpractice, and no one should ever be excused from murder because their victim is gay or transgender," said Christian Fuscarino, executive director of Garden State Equality, in a statement. "As hate crimes against LGBTQ New Jerseyans continue to rise and trans people are murdered across the nation, it's more imperative than ever that we ensure our criminal justice system protects LGBTQ people equally—full stop."

Kathy Aheran-O'Brien, executive director of Hyacinth AIDS Foundation, said in a statement, "We need to ensure that homophobia and transphobia are never used as an excuse for hate, and with the discriminatory 'panic' defense off-the-books, New Jersey is moving another step closer to securing equality for all."

Current law provides that a homicide that would otherwise be murder be reduced to manslaughter if the jury finds that the homicide was committed "in the heat of passion" resulting from a reasonable provocation. A defendant in such cases might claim that the discovery of, knowledge about, or potential disclosure of the homicide victim's actual or perceived gender identity or expression, or affectional or sexual orientation, caused the reaction, the legislation states. Provoked heat-of-passion manslaughter is a crime of the second degree punishable by five to 10 years' imprisonment, a fine of up to $150,000, or both; while murder is a first-degree crime, punishable by 30 years to life behind bars and a fine of up to $200,000, or both, according to the bill.

Sponsors have said that the legislation was motivated in part by a New York trial resulting from the death of Islan Nettles. Nettles was beaten to death in Harlem in 2013 after defendant James Dixon discovered Nettles was a transgender woman. At the 2016 trial, Dixon attempted to justify his violence by arguing Nettles provoked him, according to reports. Dixon, originally of Brooklyn and now 29, was convicted and is serving 12 years in jail.

Tom Prol, the first openly gay president of the New Jersey State Bar Association and a founding and current executive board member of Garden State Equality, said he was gratified by the governor's and Legislature's action in an email to the Law Journal.

"I am grateful to Governor Murphy for signing this historic legislation that has immediately put an end to the gay and trans panic defense in the Garden State," said Prol, a partner with Sills Cummis & Gross who testified before both the Senate and Assembly judiciary committees in support of the bill. "No longer will a murderer be able to tell a jury that their victim 'had it coming' because they were a member of the LGBTQ community."

"The New Jersey State Bar Association and Garden State Equality joined the American Bar Association in opposing this discriminatory defense for good reason—because it allowed a killer to use prejudice to avoid justice," Prol said in the same email.

The Senate version of the bill, S-2609, was sponsored by Sens. Joseph Lagana, D-Bergen, and Vin Gopal, D-Monmouth, with Troy Singleton, D-Burlington, as a co-sponsor.

"Gay and trans panic defenses, which reduce the punishment for horrible crimes, amount to legal malpractice and cannot be allowed to stand," Lagana, an attorney, said in the same release on Tuesday.

A-1796, sponsored by Assemblymen John McKeon, D-Essex, and Joann Downey, D-Monmouth, originally passed the Assembly on Nov. 25 by a 74-0 vote. S-2609 was substituted for A-1796, and reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee with amendments on Dec. 12. It passed the Senate 39-0 on Dec. 16. On Jan. 6, S-2609 was received in the Assembly on second reading on concurrence. The concurrence passed by 76-0 on Jan. 13.