Cousins! A recently signed bill has been passed into legislation within the state of Michigan making it a felony to intimidate someone by using the wrong gender pronouns!
According to FOX NEWS, bill hb 4474 has been passed by Michigan’s state House of Representatives indicating that it is a criminal act to make someone feel purposely intimidated by purposely addressing them wrongfully.
Reports read that 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.”
“‘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,” reads the recently approved bill.
Officials declare that “sexual orientation” and “gender identity or expression” are protected classes under bill hb 4474. The bill was passed within a 59-50 vote, within the Democrat-controlled state House, reads reports.
“Using a person’s preferred pronoun is akin to using their preferred first name. For example, if you meet a person and they say, ‘Call me Sam,’ rather than Samuel or Samantha, we would do so out of both respect for another’s self-identity and common courtesy. The same courtesy and respect should apply to a person’s requested pronouns,” said Michael McDaniel, associate dean emeritus professor, and director of homeland security law programs at Western Michigan University’s Thomas M. Cooley Law School.
Following the newly proposed bill, social media users have argued that the order violates Americans’ first amendment rights.
If approved by the state senate, it will be sent for approval to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is expected to sign it, per Fox.
Click on Detroit reports that a person would be found guilty of a hate crime if they “maliciously and intentionally” do any of the following things “based on actual or perceived characteristics of that individual, regardless of the existence of any other motivating factors:”
- Uses force of violence on another individual.
- Causes bodily injury to another individual.
- Intimidates another individual.
- Damages, destroys or defaces any real, personal, digital, or online property of another individual without the consent of that individual.
- Threatens, by word or act, to do any of those actions.