Did Norway Just Criminalize 'Misgendering' a Trans Person, Even in Private Homes?
Norway’s parliament introduced changes to the “hate speech” section of its penal code in November, adding protections for transgender individuals.
The Nov. 24 legislation is incredibly troublesome, given the ill-defined nature of “hate speech,” especially when it applies to transgenderism.
Even more troubling, the guidelines apply to citizens both in public and in private.
This means citizens can be reprimanded for saying the “wrong” thing even if it happens within their own homes.
According to Reuters, the amendment outlaws discrimination based on “gender identity or gender expression.”
Hate speech, according to Norway’s penal code, is defined as “discriminatory or hateful” statements and “threatening or insulting a person or promoting hate of, persecution of or contempt for another person” based on their skin color, religion, sexual orientation and more.
Many leftist activists claim that “misgendering,” or referring to a transgender person by their biological sex, is an egregious insult.
“Deadnaming,” the practice of referring to a transgender person by their birth name without their consent instead of the name they use after transitioning, is another practice considered by some to be insulting “hate speech.”
If the code is interpreted in this way, any person who insults a transgender person by misgendering or deadnaming them in public could be fined or face a maximum of three years in prison in Norway.
Anyone violating the hate speech code in private could face a fine or up to one year in jail, according to Reuters.
If nothing else, this story should serve as a powerful reminder to Americans.
This is why our First Amendment protections are so valuable.
Many Democratic politicians in the United States would likely support such a law in our country, given how they complain about “hate speech” and show unwavering support for what they believe to be “transgender rights.”
It may be only a matter of time before such a law is actually passed in this country.
The lawmakers who passed this legislation in Norway are real people, not dystopian movie villains. It’s nothing short of naive to assume that American lawmakers would never attempt to pursue similarly heinous laws in America.
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