Since the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code were amended in 2017 to include "gender identity" and "gender expression" as protected classes, "misgendering" a person is now regarded as a hate crime in Canada. 2019 saw the "family violence" conviction of a father in British Columbia for failing to use his daughter's preferred pronouns.
We can't dismiss this as typical Canadian irrationality any longer. Using the "wrong pronouns," also known as "misgendering," to "intimidate" someone is now illegal under Michigan's recently passed HB 4474.
The word "intimidate" is defined in the bill as "a willful course of conduct involving repeated or continuing harassment of another person that would reasonably cause that person to feel terrorized, frightened, or threatened, and that actually causes the victim to feel terrorized, frightened, or threatened."
The definition of gender identity or expression in the bill is "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." The term "harassment" is not defined in the bill.
In other words, the state actually wants to compel people to "affirm" a transgender person's gender. You run the risk of receiving a $10,000 fine or up to five years in prison if the legislation becomes law and you don't affirm the gender identity of transgender or non-binary people.
Those accused of misgendering people may be eligible for a sentence reduction if they agree to participate in woke re-education. According to the bill, a defendant who agrees to perform community service "intended to enhance the offender's understanding of the impact of the offense upon the victim and wider community" may have their sentence reduced by up to 20%.
The Democrat-controlled state House passed the legislation with a vote of 59–50. It now goes to the Democrat–controlled state Senate, where it is likely to pass. Eventually, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will sign the legislation.
Therefore, refusing to use someone's "preferred pronouns" could land you in jail in Michigan. If you're anything like me, you could care less about someone's preferred pronouns, so if you run into someone, you'll refer to him as a biological male. You'll act similarly if she is a biological female.
It worries me that such a bill could pass in a state house even though I'm confident that, if it passes, it will face immediate legal challenges. The radical left seeks to compel speech whenever it has the ability to do so, as well as to outlaw certain forms of speech. In all honesty, this is nothing new.
The Colorado anti-discrimination law effectively forced a graphic designer to create wedding websites for same-sex marriages against her religious beliefs, the Supreme Court just ruled on Friday. Make no mistake: if we don't fight tooth and nail to keep a conservative majority on the Supreme Court, free speech will become a thing of the past. The radical left will keep attempting things like this.
We can't dismiss this as typical Canadian irrationality any longer. Using the "wrong pronouns," also known as "misgendering," to "intimidate" someone is now illegal under Michigan's recently passed HB 4474.
The word "intimidate" is defined in the bill as "a willful course of conduct involving repeated or continuing harassment of another person that would reasonably cause that person to feel terrorized, frightened, or threatened, and that actually causes the victim to feel terrorized, frightened, or threatened."
The definition of gender identity or expression in the bill is "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." The term "harassment" is not defined in the bill.
In other words, the state actually wants to compel people to "affirm" a transgender person's gender. You run the risk of receiving a $10,000 fine or up to five years in prison if the legislation becomes law and you don't affirm the gender identity of transgender or non-binary people.
Those accused of misgendering people may be eligible for a sentence reduction if they agree to participate in woke re-education. According to the bill, a defendant who agrees to perform community service "intended to enhance the offender's understanding of the impact of the offense upon the victim and wider community" may have their sentence reduced by up to 20%.
The Democrat-controlled state House passed the legislation with a vote of 59–50. It now goes to the Democrat–controlled state Senate, where it is likely to pass. Eventually, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will sign the legislation.
Therefore, refusing to use someone's "preferred pronouns" could land you in jail in Michigan. If you're anything like me, you could care less about someone's preferred pronouns, so if you run into someone, you'll refer to him as a biological male. You'll act similarly if she is a biological female.
It worries me that such a bill could pass in a state house even though I'm confident that, if it passes, it will face immediate legal challenges. The radical left seeks to compel speech whenever it has the ability to do so, as well as to outlaw certain forms of speech. In all honesty, this is nothing new.
The Colorado anti-discrimination law effectively forced a graphic designer to create wedding websites for same-sex marriages against her religious beliefs, the Supreme Court just ruled on Friday. Make no mistake: if we don't fight tooth and nail to keep a conservative majority on the Supreme Court, free speech will become a thing of the past. The radical left will keep attempting things like this.
