Michigan House passes bill that could make using wrong pronouns a felony, fineable up to $10,000
Category: News & Politics
Via: vic-eldred • 3 years ago • 47 commentsBy: Timothy Nerozzi (Fox News)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A recently passed bill in Michigan could make it a felony to intimidate someone by intentionally using the wrong gender pronouns, according to some legal experts.
Michigan's state House of Representatives has passed bill HB 4474, a piece of legislation that criminalizes causing someone to feel threatened by words.
Under the new bill, offenders are "guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 5 years, or by a fine of not more than $10,000."
Michigan's state House of Representatives has passed a bill that could make it a felony to use someone's preferred pronouns in a way that "intimidates" them.(Google Maps)
"'Intimidate' means a willful course of conduct involving repeated or continuing harassment of another individual that would cause a reasonable individual to feel terrorized, frightened, or threatened, and that actually causes the victim to feel terrorized, frightened, or threatened," the bill reads.
The bill specifically addresses "sexual orientation" and "gender identity or expression" as protected classes.
According to the bill, "'Gender identity or expression' means having or being perceived as having a gender-related self-identity or expression whether or not associated with an individual's assigned sex at birth."
Critics are accusing the bill of violating the First Amendment.
"Make no mistake about it. Those advocating for this legislation will wield these policies as a weapon capable of destroying conservative expression or viewpoints grounded in the sacred," Distinguished Professor Emeritus William Wagner told media outlet The Daily Wire.
"The state of Michigan is now explicitly allowing the gender delusion issue to be used as a 'protected class.' This opens up numerous issues when it comes to the courts and the continued weaponization of the system against conservatives," State Rep. Angela Rigas said of the bill.
She continued, "We saw similar concerns when they wanted to pass blocks on 'conversion' therapy. It seems Dems want to be in the business of telling people how to think."
The bill was passed by the Democrat-controlled state House in a 59-50 vote. It now moves to the Michigan State Senate for consideration.
If approved by the state senate, it will be sent for approval to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is expected to sign it.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer delivers her State of the State address to a joint session of the House and Senate at the state Capitol in Lansing.(AP Photo/Al Goldis, file)
Michigan lawmakers gave final approval to legislation banning "conversion therapy" for minors as Democrats in the state continue to advance a pro-LGBTQ+ agenda in their first months in power.
The legislation would prohibit mental health professionals from trying to convert youths who are LGBTQ+ to heterosexuality and traditional gender expectations.
Tags
Who is online
84 visitors
What madness we are living through!
So, you want to be able to engage in” a willful course of conduct involving repeated or continuing harassment of another individual that would cause a reasonable individual to feel terrorized, frightened, or threatened, and that actually causes the victim to feel terrorized, frightened, or threatened,"
That’s what you’re defending?
Is that what you see happening?
You really convinced yourself of that?
The only people who are threatened are those tagged by the hate-group known as "the Southern Poverty Law Center" as this or that.
You didn’t respond to anything I wrote, so I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Let me give you the benefit of the doubt. Who is the victim in this case?
You still haven’t responded to my comment. Additionally, your question makes no sense because there is no case.
Try - just try - to directly respond to what I asked.
When I was a kid, my parents taught me to say, "Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me" if someone called me a name.
It's sad that today's far-left, weak-kneed snowflakes have a mental breakdown when faced with words they don't like.
We let it all happen. If things work out just right, both Biden & Trump will be immersed in legal problems and maybe, just maybe, we'll get a President who will stop federal funding of left leaning universities.
I know. What the Hell is wrong with those people? Just another reason I am so glad I live in rural SE Arizona!
The closest I ever got was Gallup NM, but I do listen to the music of the man who romanticized the west!
That sometimes takes me there.
You mean Gene Autry or Roy Rogers?
Have to wonder how this will stack up in a law suit against the First Amendment.
onder how this will stack up in a law suit against the First Amendment.
If there's a judge in the country who thinks this is okay they should be impeached.
Yeah, throwing people in jail for using the wrong pronouns is bad, but is it putting books on the shelf in the library the publisher recommends level of bad? Given the amount of freaking out I've seen, the latter is obviously a much worse crime.
We should put everything that happened since 2020 in a time capsule
Including Angela Rigas ..
I don't understand your off-topic problem with her. Is it that:
Obviously, it implicates the First Amendment, but harassment is already a crime. This legislation would seem to define another way that harassment could occur.
It does appear to be rather specific and defines behavior that happens repeatedly over an extended period of time, so it won’t involve the occasional accident or even a single instance of rude behavior.
Additionally, it has to cause a specific effect that must be proved both objectively and subjectively. I doubt we’d actually see it prosecuted a lot, but if it is, it would have to be some pretty outrageous behavior.
"'Intimidate' means a willful course of conduct involving repeated or continuing harassment of another individual that would cause a reasonable individual to feel terrorized, frightened, or threatened, and that actually causes the victim to feel terrorized, frightened, or threatened," the bill reads.
Based on the constant outrage it seems "reasonable individual" is in short supply. Maybe they should also change the definition of " terror, frightened or threatened " to "anyones whose feelings that are hurt". It seems the latest batch of snowflakes are afraid of everything.
Better not pass and be signed. Will backfire on its proponents if it goes too far. And my opinion of course, just kinda fuck off.
Stop expecting everyone else to change themselves and conform to you. If you wanna upend social norms then go for it, but don't expect everyone to just be okay with it.
Governor Whitless and Michigan Democrats at it again.
With all of the problems Michigan has- they go out and create new ones.
No wonder people are fleeing this state.
In droves no less.
Hey, maybe they could use the fine money to fix the water system in Flint? They sure haven't done much else to fix that problem....
Why would they fix it?
They really don't give a shit about the people in Flint.
It was a great political tool to trash Snyder from having any chance at a political future. Now that it has been accomplished Flint is no longer politically relevant to Democrats. The people that live there will never vote for a Republican; and their slide into further leftist extremism has been rapid.
It is not like the Michigan media has been covering it. They won't say a bad word about Whitless. They are too busy fawning over her, praying that she will make Michigan famous by being the first female president.
Hopefully Republicans on the national level will attack her for her many gaffs while governor (Her causing two dams to burst; violating her own Covid restrictions multiple times; and her war on barbers and salons). The state Republicans barely said a word edgewise about her- even after suing her multiple times in the courts for abuse of power during Covid.