Michigan Moves Forward with Hate Speech Bill Making it a Felony to Make Someone “Feel” Threatened

This would mark the end of our Constitution. It is illegal on every level. Make no mistake, these are the actions of totalitarian destroyers. History is riddled with the human toll of these villains. It’s why I fought so vigorously all the years to ensure our freedom of speech.

“The principle of free speech is not concerned with the content of a man speech and does not protect only the expression of good ideas, but all ideas. If it were otherwise who would determine which ideas are good and which have been? The government?” Ayn Rand, America’s greatest political philosopher, eloquently explained.

Freedom of speech is the foundation of a free society. Without it, a tyrant can wreak havoc unopposed, while his opponents are silenced. Putting up with being offended is essential in a pluralistic society in which people differ on basic truths. If a group will not bear being offended without resorting to violence, that group will rule unopposed while everyone else lives in fear, while other groups curtail their activities to appease the violent group. This results in the violent group being able to tyrannize the others.

If speech that offends a group is outlawed, that group has absolute power, and a free society is destroyed. A group that cannot be criticized cannot be opposed. It can work its will no matter what it is, and no one will be able to say anything to stop it.

The antidote to bad speech is more speech. But the left cannot permit the free exchange of ideas because their failed ideas cannot stand up to scrutiny and challenge.

Inoffensive speech needs no protection. The First Amendment was developed precisely in order to protect speech that was offensive to some, in order to prevent those who had power from claiming they were offended by speech opposing them and silencing the powerless.

A free society is by its nature one in which people put up with others being uncivil and offensive. The alternative is a quiet authoritarian society in which only one opinion is allowed and the others are silenced, and ultimately sent to the camps.

Michigan Moves Forward with Hate Speech Bill Making it a Felony to Make Someone “Feel” Threatened

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Daily Caller: A new Michigan bill would make it a hate crime to cause someone to “feel terrorized, frightened, or threatened.” The Michigan Hate Crime Act, designated HB 4474 , passed in the state House on Tuesday and now goes before the Michigan Senate.  It will replace the existing Ethnic Intimidation Act and expand the categories of people protected by the law. The new bill would include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity or expression” as classes protected against intimidation (Daily Caller).

Daily Wire: 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. 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’re being intimidated because their “perceived gender identity” 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 “after the action,” the opposite of the due process required by the Constitution (Daily Wire).