United States 119th Congress Status: In Committee 58 D cosponsors

HR 4197 — LGBTQ+ Panic Defense Prohibition Act of 2025

Last action — Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Track this bill free

No card. One bill, free forever — alerts when it moves.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced June 26, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the House.

Prognosis

Stalled 26% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 58 sponsors

    1 primary, 57 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (58 D).

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Bill Text

How this bill changes current law

2 changes Share ↗

AI-generated reading aid from the bill's amendatory text — verify against the official bill.

This bill prohibits the use of panic defenses based on sexual orientation or gender identity in federal criminal proceedings.

  • 18 U.S.C. 28

    Sec. 28. Prohibition on panic defenses based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression (a) Prohibition.--No nonviolent sexual advance or perception or belief, even if inaccurate, of the gender, gender identity or expression, or sexual orientation of an individual may be used to excuse or justify the conduct of an individual or mitigate the severity of an offense. (b) Past Trauma.--Notwithstanding the prohibition in subsection (a), a court may admit evidence, in accordance with the Federal Rules of Evidence, of prior trauma to the defendant for the purpose of excusing or justifying the conduct of the defendant or mitigating the severity of an offense.

    This addition establishes a legal prohibition against using panic defenses in federal criminal cases related to sexual orientation or gender identity.

  • 18 U.S.C. 28

    Prohibition on panic defenses based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

    This adds a new section title to the U.S. Code, clarifying the purpose of the section.

Action History

  1. Introduced in House

  2. Introduced in House

  3. Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 57 co-sponsors · 489 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (57)

Not signed on (489)

489 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 489 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

public-safety civil-rights
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors HR 4197?
HR 4197 is sponsored by Schakowsky, Janice D. (Democratic), Crockett, Jasmine (Democratic), Casten, Sean (Democratic), Davis, Danny K. (Democratic), Sykes, Emilia Strong (Democratic), Strickland, Marilyn (Democratic), Takano, Mark (Democratic), McClellan, Jennifer L. (Democratic), Brownley, Julia (Democratic), Kennedy, Timothy M. (Democratic), Davids, Sharice (Democratic), Johnson, Henry C. "Hank" (Democratic), Williams, Nikema (Democratic), Moulton, Seth (Democratic), Deluzio, Christopher R. (Democratic), Thanedar, Shri (Democratic), McGarvey, Morgan (Democratic), Mullin, Kevin (Democratic), Pallone, Frank (Democratic), Green, Al (Democratic), Peters, Scott H. (Democratic), Hayes, Jahana (Democratic), Garamendi, John (Democratic), Huffman, Jared (Democratic), Tonko, Paul (Democratic), Lynch, Stephen F. (Democratic), Frost, Maxwell (Democratic), Foushee, Valerie P. (Democratic), Carbajal, Salud O. (Democratic), Krishnamoorthi, Raja (Democratic), Correa, J. Luis (Democratic), Sherman, Brad (Democratic), García, Jesús G. "Chuy" (Democratic), Norton, Eleanor Holmes (Democratic), McGovern, James P. (Democratic), Amo, Gabe (Democratic), Lofgren, Zoe (Democratic), Gottheimer, Josh (Democratic), Salinas, Andrea (Democratic), McIver, LaMonica (Democratic), Evans, Dwight (Democratic), Balint, Becca (Democratic), Bonamici, Suzanne (Democratic), Quigley, Mike (Democratic), Chu, Judy (Democratic), Lieu, Ted (Democratic), Neguse, Joe (Democratic), Fletcher, Lizzie (Democratic), Garcia, Sylvia R. (Democratic), DelBene, Suzan K. (Democratic), Scholten, Hillary J. (Democratic), DeGette, Diana (Democratic), McClain Delaney, April (Democratic), Ramirez, Delia C. (Democratic), McBride, Sarah (Democratic), Grijalva, Adelita S. (Democratic), Jayapal, Pramila (Democratic), and Pappas, Chris (Democratic).
What is the current status of HR 4197?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced June 26, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HR 4197?
Track HR 4197 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

Make your voice heard on HR 4197

Find the representatives who decide this bill and tell them where you stand — for yourself, or mobilize your whole list in one click with One Click Politics advocacy software.

Find my representatives → Run a campaign

Stay ahead of HR 4197

Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

One Click Politics tracks every bill in Congress and all 50 states.

Track this bill →