Michigan Democrats on Tuesday just passed an Orwellian law that could imprison Americans for saying “frightening” or “intimidating” words.
The bill would expand the state’s 1988 ethnic intimidation law, allowing prosecutors more power when it comes to vandalism at places of worship and including gay, transgender, and senior individuals.
State Rep. Emily Dievendorf expressed satisfaction after the legislation passed the Michigan House by a vote of 59 to 50 on Tuesday.
“We know that at this time in history, extremism is on the rise. But also, our hate speech has translated into hate actions that put our most vulnerable populations at risk,” Dievendorf told CBS.
She added that she’s optimistic that the bill will pass the Senate and ultimately be signed into law. “We fully expect success in the Senate and all the way to the governor’s desk.”
The bill’s sponsor, Noah Arbit, also reiterated why he feels this legislation is important while giving his remarks on the House floor.
“I’m sick of checking for hiding spots at the gay bar should a gunman opened fire. I’m sick of my Chaldean constituents being murdered in their place of business. I’m sick of reading headlines about Mosques and Churches being desecrated … Michigan can be so much better, and it’s about time that we were,” Arbit said.
Critics, however, fear that the law will be weaponized to take down political opponents. Republican State Rep. Steve Carra said that this could compromise an individual’s feelings.
“Threats and violence and things of that nature and protecting against crime is certainly something that we absolutely should be doing in Michigan. But we shouldn’t be building that around an individual’s feelings of being frightened,” Carra told the news outlet.
Similarly in Texas, Democrats have also introduced the “Leading Against White Supremacy Act of 2023,” which would make “speech that vilifies or is otherwise directed against any non-White person or group” illegal and criminalize “antagonism based on ‘replacement theory.’”
According to the legislation, it is meant to “prevent and prosecute white supremacy inspired hate crime and conspiracy to commit white supremacy inspired hate crime and to amend title 18, United States Code, to expand the scope of hate crimes.”
