The Michigan House of Representatives has recently passed a controversial bill, HB 4474, making it a felony to use gender pronouns in a manner that another citizen disagrees with.
Under the terms of the new bill, those found guilty of such an offense could face a felony charge punishable by up to 5 years imprisonment, or a fine of up to $10,000.
The bill construes misgendering as an act of “intimidation,” defined as “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.”
The legislation explicitly designates “s**ual orientation” and “gender identity or expression” as protected classes. The bill clarifies that “‘Gender identity or expression’ means having or being perceived as having a gender-related self-identity or expression whether or not associated with an individual’s assigned s** at birth.”
In another move supporting LGBTQ+ rights, Michigan lawmakers have also approved legislation that bans “conversion therapy” for minors. This new law would prevent mental health professionals from attempting to change the s**ual orientation or gender identity of young people who identify as LGBTQ+. This measure aligns with the broader pro-LGBTQ+ agenda being pursued by Democrats in the state.
However, the bill has attracted criticism for potentially infringing upon First Amendment rights, compelling speech, and prohibiting expression of traditional or scientific perspectives on s** and gender. Critics also contend that the Michigan law would also violate the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
It is unclear if Michigan’s pronoun law would survive scrutiny in the Supreme Court, which is dominated by a conservative supermajority of justices that has recently issued decisive rulings that factor into the nation’s “culture wars.”
On Friday, the Supreme Court in a 6-3 opinion delivered along ideological lines upheld a web designer’s right not to create websites in a manner that violates her freedom of conscience. This SCOTUS ruling followed upon the overturning of affirmative action policies in college admissions and the strengthening of religious liberty by ruling on behalf of a Christian postal worker who petitioned not to be forced to work on Sunday.
Michigan’s pronoun law thus risks being overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court on First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment grounds.
