Residents of the state of Washington have raised concerns about free speech violations after it was learned that the governor, Jay Inslee (D), is expected to sign a bill creating a “bias incident hotline.”
Under the bill, citizens may call the hotline to turn in their friends, family, and neighbors for “hate crimes” and “bias.”
The bill, SSB 5427, is designed to support people “who have been targeted or affected by hate crimes and bias incidents by establishing a reporting hotline and tracking hate crimes and bias incidents.”
A “bias incident” is defined as a “person’s hostile expression of animus toward another person, relating to actual or perceived characteristics identified by specified statutes, of which criminal investigation or prosecution is impossible or inappropriate.” Alleged “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.”
According to Liberty Nation, those opposed to transgenderism and other ideological ideas may be targeted.
“Free speech – at least in the three Washington counties to which this program will initially be rolled out – appears under threat,” the outlet reported. “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.”
If signed, the bill will take effect July 1, 2025.
