Washington State's Governor Jay Inslee (D-WA) is expected to sign Substitute Senate Bill 5427, a controversial piece of legislation that the Left describes as "aimed at combating hate crimes and bias incidents in Washington state."
However, the bill has sparked a heated debate over the potential implications of criminalizing free speech.
The bill, which passed through the Washington state legislature, seeks to create a “bias incident hotline” under the management of the State Attorney General’s Office.
The stated intention is to support victims of hate crimes and track bias incidents.
However, clear-thinking conservatives are sounding the alarm---but they are not the majority in the State Legislature.
Be informed, not misled.
According to the bill:
“The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) must oversee hate crimes and bias incidents hotline (hotline) staffed during business hours, dedicated to assisting people who have been targeted or affected by hate crimes and bias incidents. The hotline must: provide appropriate victim-centered, culturally competent, and trauma-informed information and referral; be as accessible to as many residents of Washington as is practical."
And it says, “Bias incident means a person’s hostile expression of animus toward another person, relating to the other person’s actual or perceived race, color, ethnicity, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, or mental, physical, or sensory disability. A bias incident is deemed to be non-criminal in nature and does not include expressions of support for or opposition to a government’s policies or actions protected under free speech all within appropriations, regardless of language proficiency."
If this is beginning to feel a little creepy, it's because it is creepy.
Most Americans assume people spying on one another and reporting what they see their neighbors or family members doing that they disagree with is something that happens in communist countries or movies.
Liberty Nation describes it like this: "Washington Governor Jay Inslee Poised to Kill Free Speech"
"Residents of the Evergreen State will soon be able to report their neighbors for expressing 'bias.'”
Could it be that if you choose to put a US flag on your house this Fourth of July, rather than a "Pride" flag, you could be guilty of expressing hate or at least "bias" toward the LGBTQ activist or ally next door?
The answer is obvious.
Liberty Nation explains the obvious.
To be clear, this isn’t merely about going after people who have allegedly committed physical “hate crimes.” It also targets reported instances of “a person’s hostile expression of animus toward another person, relating to the other person’s actual or perceived characteristics…” Literally, the hotline gives people a way of informing on others supposedly guilty of thought crimes – or, perhaps, speech crimes.
The bill, as passed, does make it clear that these “bias incidents” do not include “expressions of opposition or support for the actions or policies of a foreign or domestic government protected under free speech.” So, sure, one is still free to criticize an elected official, but express any opinion someone else decides is aimed at an individual because of that person’s “actual or perceived characteristics” and one could find oneself in the AG’s crosshairs.
It is easy to see, then, that any expression of opposition to, say, transgender ideology, would get someone reported to the hotline. Free speech – at least in the three Washington counties to which this program will initially be rolled out – appears under threat. If one cannot say anything that another person of a different race, sex, religion, or sexual orientation finds offensive in some way without being reported to the attorney general’s office, then one no longer enjoys the constitutionally protected right to freedom of speech.
Supporters of the bill might argue that this isn’t the US Congress making a law that restricts free speech, so it can’t be unconstitutional. The Washington Constitution, however, also protects free speech. Article I, Section 5: “Every person may freely speak, write, and publish on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right."
WA. State Republican legislators also warn of the dangers of this bill.
Unfortunately, the Republicans in the state legislature are the minority.
Rep. Cyndy Jacobsen (R-Puyallup) succinctly pointed out the ominous flaw in this bill. “I think it’s difficult to put things into law that look at the intent of people rather than the actions that they take,” she said. Rep. Jim Walsh (R-Aberdeen) agrees, saying: “If a crime is a crime, if someone has been assaulted, if the property has been damaged, then the proper recourse is to contact law enforcement and pursue a remedy, pursue justice in that way.”
A very destructive path.
Liberty says this:
The potential scope of abuse with this new hotline is vast – especially since any identifying personal information provided to the hotline is “confidential and exempt from public inspection, copying, or disclosure.” Neither is that information to be included in any written reports. That means if anyone wanted to go after someone whose political opinions they don’t like, they could, conceivably, fabricate a “hate crime” or “bias incident” out of nothing. In fact, this new law, which takes effect on Jan. 1, 2025, exempts so much information from public disclosure that there will be no accountability at all to the people of the Evergreen State. After all, faking hate crimes has become common practice for the progressive left.
Takeaway
When any elected (or appointed) official says that restricting free speech is necessary in order to increase public safety, it is crucial for rational people to think about how far such restrictions will go. “Public safety” and “public health emergency” are deliberately vague terms that can be used to justify any violation of individual rights. Perhaps free speech isn't a priority for them after all.
2 Corinthians 3:17: "Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty."
As our nation turns more and more away from God, we will continue to see our Freedoms---our Liberty diminish.
Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Engaged. Be Prayerful.