Some legal experts believe that a newly approved measure in Michigan might make it a criminal to intentionally use the wrong gender pronouns in an attempt to intimidate someone.
House Bill 4474, which makes it illegal to make someone feel threatened through words, has passed the Michigan House of Representatives.
In accordance with the new legislation, anyone found guilty will be felonious and will be punished by imprisonment. The prison term will not exceed 5 years, and the fine will not exceed $10,000.
The bill defines intimidation as conduct that involves repetitive harassment that would cause a reasonable person to feel “frightened, terrorized, or threatened.”
Defining “reasonable” is the rub. If the courts think these triggered snowflakes are reasonable people, then the country is in sad shape.
The measure makes “sexual orientation” and “gender identity or expression” into legally recognized protected categories.
The law states that gender expression or identity means something other than an individual’s “assigned sex at birth.
The word “assigned” is a contentious one. It suggests that sex at birth is arbitrary and not a biological fact. Your sex is not “assigned” it is observed.
The bill’s opponents claim it undermines their right to free speech.
According to Distinguished Professor Emeritus William Wagner, these regulations will be used as a weapon to crush conservative expression or beliefs.
The law was approved by a 59-50 vote in the state House, which is controlled by Democrats. The bill will be considered next by the Senate of Michigan.
If the state senate approves it, it will be delivered to Governor Gretchen Whitmer for her signature.
Continuing their pro-LGBTQ+ agenda in their first months in office, Democrats in Michigan passed a bill outlawing “conversion therapy” for kids.
The bill would make it illegal for mental health providers to pressure young people who identify as LGBTQ+ to conform to heterosexuality and binary gender norms.
