Michigan Legislature Poised to Criminalize Speech

By: Steve Huston

The above title is the wording used to describe William Wagner’s latest thoughts and concerns about House Bills 4474 and 4475 as currently written and posted on the Wagner Faith and Freedom Center website found here. PAY ATTENTION: THIS IS GOING ON NOW IN MICHIGAN’S LEGISLATURE!

If one isn’t familiar with this amazing truth-teller and man of God, the following is part of his bio: “William Wagner holds the academic rank of Distinguished Professor Emeritus (Law). He served on the faculty at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, where he taught Constitutional Law and Ethics. He currently holds the Wagner Faith and Freedom Center Distinguished Chair at Spring Arbor University. Before joining academia, he served as a federal judge in the United States Courts, as Senior Assistant United States Attorney in the Department of Justice, as a Legal Counsel in the United States Senate, as Chief Counsel to the Michigan Senate Judiciary Committee, and was a US Diplomat.” In short, William Wagner knows his stuff and has been in the business of guarding, training, and working within the confines of our Constitution for a long time. He is a man whose statements should be trusted.

Below is the beginning of Professor Wagner’s warnings regarding this heinous attack on our First Amendment and religious liberty. I urge you to read it, go to the website to finish reading his concerns, then share this far and wide with others. Go to the bottom of our email alert from yesterday and act on the action points presented.

Below are Professor Wagner’s words of warning:

Criminalizing Speech – When Vagueness Becomes Perilous

 HB 4474 provides that

A person is guilty of a hate crime if that person … harasses another individual…, if the person, regardless of the existence of any other motivating factors, … engages in the action based in whole or in part on any of the following actual or perceived characteristics of another individual

(c) Sex.

(d) Sexual Orientation.

(e) Gender identity or expression

Under the proposed legislation, this new speech crime constitutes a felony with significant fines and imprisonment. Additional penalties include Orwellian, Soviet-style forced reeducation under the guise of community service.

In addition to criminal prosecution, the proposed law creates a draconian civil cause of action:

… an individual who suffers … severe mental anguish … as a result of a hate crime may bring a civil cause of action against the person who commits the offense to secure an injunction, action damages, including damages for infliction of severe mental anguish, or other appropriate relief. A plaintiff who prevails in a civil action brought under this section may recover both the following:

(a) Damages in the amount of 3 times the actual damages described in this subsection or 25,000.00, whichever is greater.

(b) Reasonable attorney fees and costs.

The proposed speech law is wholly inconsistent with fundamental principles of constitutional good governance under the rule of law. In this regard, the bill unconstitutionally:

1) fails to provide fair notice of the conduct it purports to prohibit;

2) chills free speech and the exercise of the religious conscience;

3) places the burden of disproving an accusation on the accused—whilst deeming a violation to exist even when the accused possesses no intent to harass or offend.

Click here to finish reading this important warning!

 

To view this article in your browser, Click Here

For more information, articles and newsletters, please check out our website at https://americandecency.org/

You can support ADA financially by visiting: https://give.cornerstone.cc/americandecency

 

---