{"id":1959073,"date":"2023-06-28T10:49:02","date_gmt":"2023-06-28T14:49:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/michigan-hate-speech-bill-would-make-it-a-felony-to-make-someone-feel-threatened\/"},"modified":"2023-06-28T10:50:30","modified_gmt":"2023-06-28T14:50:30","slug":"michigan-hate-speech-bill-would-make-it-a-felony-to-make-someone-feel-threatened","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/michigan-hate-speech-bill-would-make-it-a-felony-to-make-someone-feel-threatened\/","title":{"rendered":"Michigan&#8217;s proposed hate speech bill criminalizes causing someone to feel threatened, potentially resulting in a felony charge."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmichigan-hate-speech-bill-would-make-it-a-felony-to-make-someone-feel-threatened%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1959073&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>A Michigan Hate Speech Bill Sparks Concerns<\/h2>\n<blockquote>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/topic\/michigan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Michigan<\/a> hate speech bill that has passed the state House and is now in the hands of the Senate is alarming conservatives, people of faith, and legal experts.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The bill, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.legislature.mi.gov\/documents\/2023-2024\/billengrossed\/House\/pdf\/2023-HEBH-4474.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HB 4474<\/a>, is part of a package of legislation that would <a href=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/story\/news\/politics\/michigan\/2023\/06\/20\/michigan-house-oks-new-hate-crime-church-synagogue-cemetery-desecration-penalties\/70337842007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">replace<\/a> Michigan\u2019s existing Ethnic Intimidation Act and make it a hate crime to cause someone to \u201cfeel terrorized, frightened, or threatened.\u201d Under the bill\u2019s framework, \u201csexual orientation\u201d and \u201cgender identity or expression\u201d are included as classes protected against intimidation. If passed, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/woke-govt-racial-awareness-training-for-civil-servants-pushes-more-immigration\/\" title=\"Woke Govt \u2018Racial Awareness\u2019 Training for Civil Servants Pushes More Immigration\">hate speech legislation<\/a> would make violators guilty of a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of $10,000.<\/p>\n<p>Many conservatives have voiced concerns that the bill infringes on Americans\u2019 First Amendment rights. Distinguished Professor Emeritus William Wagner, a former federal judge and legal counsel in the U.S. Senate, joined the chorus of politicians and lawyers warning against the bill.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMake 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,\u201d Wagner told The Daily Wire. \u201cOne merely needs to look at the scores of cases brought against schools, churches, businesses, and individuals around our country. Proponents use these laws to silence and financially cripple those who dare to adhere to a different viewpoint and oppose their agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The newest version of the bill, which passed the House, uses the term \u201charassment\u201d without defining specifically what it could refer to.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2019Intimidate\u2019 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,\u201d the bill states.<\/p>\n<p>Wagner said that under HB 4474, someone could listen to a speaker such as a religious preacher or read a conservative writer and claim they\u2019re being intimidated because their \u201cperceived gender identity\u201d is under attack. Under the legislation, intimidation and harassment could be up to the interpretation of the listener and a local prosecutor, according to Wagner, who added that the bill determines what is criminal \u201cafter the action,\u201d the opposite of the due process required by the Constitution.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Angela Rigas, a Republican freshman in the state House, told The Daily Wire that including sexual orientation and gender identity as a \u201cprotected class\u201d specifically targets conservatives who speak out against radical gender ideology.<\/p>\n<p><b data-stringify-type=\"bold\"><\/b><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe state of Michigan is now explicitly allowing the gender delusion issue to be used as a \u2018protected class.\u2019 This opens up numerous issues when it comes to the courts and the continued weaponization of the system against conservatives,\u201d Rigas said. \u201cWe saw similar concerns when they wanted to pass blocks on \u2018conversion\u2019 therapy. It seems Dems want to be in the business of telling people how to think. We are determined to keep choice and opinion a free choice despite those efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While HB 4474 includes a brief mention of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-u-s-senate-acquits-trump-seven-republicans-vote-guilty\/\" title=\"BREAKING: U.S. Senate Acquits Trump; Seven Republicans Vote Guilty\">constitutionally protected speech<\/a>, it does not detail how the government would address First Amendment concerns such as religious liberty if the legislation passes and inevitably pits those who identify as LGBTQ against people of faith who oppose such lifestyles.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIntimidate does not include constitutionally protected activity or conduct that serves a legitimate purpose,\u201d the bill states.<\/p>\n<p>In a Tuesday ruling that could potentially have implications for the hate speech legislation in Michigan, the Supreme Court <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/supreme-court-true-threat-first-amendment-34dae41b15463a52b90f2b936fa3bb83\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">set new standards<\/a> for what constitutes a threat, making it more difficult for a state to convict someone of making a threat.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe State must show that the defendant consciously disregarded a substantial risk that his communications would be viewed as threatening violence,\u201d Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the majority opinion and was joined by six other justices.<\/p>\n<p>HB 4474 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/michigan-house-votes-expand-hate-crimes-protect-gay-disabled-residents\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">passed<\/a> Michigan\u2019s Democrat-controlled House 59-50 and is currently before the Senate, which is also controlled by Democrats. If passed, the bill will likely become law after a quick signature from the state\u2019s Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer. With Republicans lacking the votes to stand in the way of the legislation, conservatives will have to rely on the courts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnfortunately here in Michigan, we have lost all three branches of power in our state,\u201d Rigas said. \u201cWhile my colleagues are introducing great bills to counter the infringements to our freedoms, there is no current way to fix these issues without higher courts becoming involved.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Michigan hate speech bill, HB 4474, has caused concern among conservatives, people of faith, and legal experts. It has passed the state House and is now with the Senate. The bill aims to replace Michigan&#8217;s Ethnic Intimidation Act and criminalize hate speech, alarming various groups.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":324,"featured_media":1959074,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1959073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-wire"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1959073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/324"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1959073"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1959073\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1959074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1959073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1959073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1959073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}