![iawa man sentenced to 16 years for setting gay flag on fire iawa man sentenced to 16 years for setting gay flag on fire](https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/wp-content/uploads/Oz0dprxx-1200x630.jpg)
Sadly, while the medical field has evolved with our increasingly just society, the legal field has yet to catch up. Defense of insanity or diminished capacity: The defendant alleges that a sexual proposition by the victim – due to their sexual orientation or gender identity – triggered a nervous breakdown in the defendant, causing an LGBTQ+ “panic.” This defense is based on an outdated psychological term, “gay panic disorder”, which was debunked by the American Psychiatric Association and removed from the DSM in 1973.Traditionally, the LGBTQ+ “panic” defense has been used in three ways to mitigate a case of murder to manslaughter or justified homicide. To refer to it as “gay/trans panic” excludes violence against those who do not identify as gay or transgender. The LGBTQ+ Bar uses “LGBTQ+ panic” rather than “gay/trans panic” because the former is an inclusive phrasing which recognizes that the defense strategy impacts all folks in the LGBTQ+ community. What is the difference between the “gay/trans panic” defense and the “LGBTQ+ panic” defense? Despite widespread public protest, the defense is still being used today. The men attempted to use the LGBTQ+ “panic” defense to excuse their actions. In 1998, Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old college student, was beaten to death by two men. One of the most recognized cases that employed the LGBTQ+ “panic” defense was that of Matthew Shepard. By fully or partially acquitting the perpetrators of crimes against LGBTQ+ victims, this defense implies that LGBTQ+ lives are worth less than others. When a perpetrator uses an LGBTQ+ “panic” defense, they are claiming that a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity not only explains-but excuses-a loss of self-control and the subsequent assault. It is not a free-standing defense to criminal liability, but rather a legal tactic used to bolster other defenses. “So burning a rainbow flag is ‘hate speech’, but burning an American flag is ‘freedom of speech’! I see…’ another added.The LGBTQ+ “panic” defense strategy is a legal strategy that asks a jury to find that a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity/expression is to blame for a defendant’s violent reaction, including murder. “Would stealing and American flag and setting it on fire earn anyone prison time? Absolutely not,” one Twitter user said. Iowa locals have had different opinions on Martinez’s sentence, with some saying 16 years imprisonment is excessive. On Wednesday, the court handed down a sentence of sixteen years imprisonment. Then, last month Martinez was found guilty of a hate crime - a class ‘D’ felony - third degree harassment and reckless use of fire. “But 12 people that I don’t know, who have no investment in me or this congregation, said this man committed a crime.”Īt the time of the incident, Martinez admitted to police he had stolen and burned the LGBTIQ flag. “There still is a very large closeted queer community here, “I often experience Ames as not being as progressive as many people believe it is,” she said. She told the Des Moines Register although the flag burning was awful, it restored her faith in the community. Pastor of the church, Eileen Gebbie is a member of the LGBTIQ community.
![iawa man sentenced to 16 years for setting gay flag on fire iawa man sentenced to 16 years for setting gay flag on fire](http://www.jesus-our-blessed-hope.com/uploads/8/7/5/0/87500100/12-21-19-burning-usa-flag-ok-gay-flag-not_orig.png)
Then Martinez doused the flag in lighter fluid and burnt it outside of a strip club called Dangerous Curves Gentlemen’s Club.