The proposed bill, titled the "Gay and Transgender Panic Legal Defenses Prohibition Act," aims to prohibit the use of gay and transgender panic defenses in criminal proceedings. It defines key terms such as "gender expression," "gender identity," and "sexual orientation," emphasizing that these characteristics should not be used to excuse or justify criminal behavior. The bill asserts that such defenses unfairly characterize the sexual orientation and gender identity of victims as reasonable justifications for a perpetrator's loss of self-control, thereby attempting to mitigate the perpetrator's responsibility for harm inflicted on LGBTQ+ individuals.

Specifically, the bill creates a new section in the Florida Statutes (s. 900.06) that explicitly states that a nonviolent sexual advance or any perception or belief regarding an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity cannot be used as a defense in criminal cases. This includes attempts to excuse or justify criminal conduct or to lessen the severity of a sentence. The act is set to take effect on July 1, 2025.