Rejecting the ‘Gay Panic’ Defense

A letter writer attempts to legitimize the “gay panic” defense for murder (Letters, Nov. 14). This is a case of blaming the victim for his own death. Yes, we should expect a heterosexual man to react negatively to a sexual proposition from a gay man. But we cannot condone reacting with deadly force. If an unwanted sexual proposition could justify a deadly reaction, few heterosexual men would survive their unwanted advances on women.

--DAVID E. ROSS

Oak Park