Now, I don't really have anything to worry about on that score, living in the Still Free State of Florida as I do, with the nation's finest governor still at the helm, his entire cabinet reelected, and his successor also a Republican.

But things got upset around the country last Tuesday, and, I mean, who knows?

There are a fair number of places that are going to have new, blue faces in offices who will have the power to make their state or city something akin to, oh, say...England, as far as thought crimes go.

Fortunately for them, they don't have to be pioneers in the effort.

New Jersey is leading the way to Dystopiaville.

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And it's not in the 'thinking about it' stage. The bill is already drawn up and sitting in committee, and the author says, oh, yeah - completely modeled on the United Kingdom's authoritarian law.

And here you goofies thought you lived in the United States, complete with freedom of - and from - religion.

Hah.

FOOLED YOU, SUCKERS

Islam is special, you see, and anything that can be perceived as disrespecting Islam must be punished, which is what Assembly Bill A1146 intends to do. 

What would become the official state definition of Islamophobia actually contains a line like this:

Under the bill, “Islamophobia” means “a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness, which may be expressed as hatred toward Muslim persons

MUSLIMNESS

(There are times I SO wish this wasn't a family-friendly blog...)

There is a literal laundry list of THOU SHALT NOTS, and THOU SHALT NOT EVEN THINK ABOUTS concerning Muslimnessy or perceived Muslimnessy persons, any of which could get you into big trouble if this bill passes.

  • Hatred or severe disparagement towards Muslim persons or their culture.
  • Hostility and fear of Islam, and as a result, a fear of and aversion to all Muslims or the majority of Muslims.
  • Discrimination, harassment, prejudice, and unequal treatment of Muslim persons or Muslim-majority communities.
  • Exclusion of Muslim persons or Muslim-majority communities from major political and social spheres.
  • Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Muslims, or of Muslims as a collective group, especially but not exclusively, conspiracies about Muslims entry into politics, government, or other societal institutions, the myth of Muslim identity having a unique propensity for terrorism, and claims of a demographic threat posed by Muslims or of a Muslim takeover.
  • Rhetorical, violent, or physical anti-Muslim manifestations directed against Muslim or non-Muslim individuals, or their property, or Muslim community institutions and religious facilities.
  • Shouting, verbal or physical abuse, pushing, spitting, pulling hijabs from Muslim women, and other forms of prejudicial abuses that target Muslims.
  • Calling for, aiding, encouraging, supporting, or justifying the killing, harming, or defaming of anyone, simply for practicing Islam or exhibiting a Muslim identity or heritage.
  • Expressing an outlook or worldview involving an unfounded dread and dislike of Muslims, which results in practices of exclusion and discrimination.
  • Accusing those practicing Islam, or exhibiting a Muslim identity or heritage, whether singularly or collectively, as being wholly responsible for any real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Muslim person or group.
  • Accusing Muslim citizens of being more loyal to a transnational Muslim community or to their countries of origin, or to the alleged priorities of Muslims worldwide, than to the interests of the people of New Jersey or the interests of the people of the United States.
  • Accusing those practicing Islam, or exhibiting a Muslim identity or heritage, whether singularly or collectively, as being wholly responsible for any real or imagined wrongdoing committed by any Muslim-majority country.
  • Accusing those practicing Islam, or exhibiting a Muslim identity or heritage, whether singularly or collectively, as being more loyal to any foreign Muslim-majority country, or the alleged priorities of Muslim persons worldwide, than to the interests of the people of the State of New Jersey, or to the interests of the people of the United States.

I do not believe there is a similar law in New Jersey protecting, oh, say, Jews from harassment, shouted curses, or accusations of being more loyal to Zionist transnational principles than the United States.

I find certain of the Protestant faiths annoying. Current Church of England anyone?

And Unitarians - THOSE guys (Just kidding - don't freak on me).

I think we deserve protection from them all, frankly, which is coincidentally how our brilliant Constitution operates. They are free to do their thing, and not free to impose it on anyone else. WIN-WIN

But that doesn't seem to be how this extraordinary and punitive protection racket works for Islamics.

Why are Muslimnessies so special?

I find this very irksome...and will continue to do so while I legally can.

YOICKS

...Other examples cover speech and viewpoints. These include “hostility and fear of Islam,” stereotypical allegations about Muslims, and “claims of a demographic threat posed by Muslims or of a Muslim takeover.”

The bill does not make any of these examples a crime by itself. What it does is tell public officials and police to “take into consideration” the definition when they review, investigate or decide whether someone broke an existing state law or policy against discrimination. That review would be used to determine whether an act was motivated by anti-Muslim intent and whether charges could be filed under existing criminal laws if it was driven by any of the 13 proposed acts.

ANTI-MUSLIM INTENT

Why are they so special, when anyone criticizing the Muslim community's open hate and vicious vitriol towards basically anything and anyone that does not bend the knee to them or accommodate their demands gets called racist and bigoted?

We are already in an unconscionable double standard situation that needs to be addressed.

The assemblyman who blew the whistle on the contents of this abomination is pointing out what a short step it is from giving Muslimness this special carve-out as a protected species to throttling any discussion of Islam, period.

...So is “hostility and fear of Islam.” Pointing out that the Muslim population is growing (Pew projects it roughly doubling by 2050) or that classical Islamic doctrine calls for Muslim political supremacy over non-Muslims can now be treated as evidence of discriminatory intent.

Bring up that many women are required to cover their hair and bodies? (Quran 24:31, 33:59) That can be framed as hostility toward Muslim culture.

Point out that Muhammad married a six-year-old and consummated the marriage at nine? (Sahih Bukhari 3894, Sahih Muslim 1422) Stereotypical allegation.

Cite the Quranic verses condemning homosexuality? (7:80-81 and related Lot passages) Rhetorical anti-Muslim manifestation.

Mention that Jews and Christians were required to submit and pay the jizya tax? (Quran 9:29) Dehumanizing claim about Muslims as a group.

The bill gives the state a broad new tool to treat factual criticism of Islamic texts, history, and demographics as proof of Islamophobic motive in existing discrimination cases, workplace investigations, schools, and bias-enhancement decisions.

This is how it all starts.

Prepare yourself for the same path the UK already took where Grandpas have been getting dragged out of their homes for social media posts.

Assemblyman Joe Danielson, the bill's author, even cites UK sources in his legislation. That's how utterly whack this entire thing is and how utterly un-American to its very core.

Sometimes you have to think we're living in a simulation, because people this pathetic and clueless couldn't possibly be real.

And then you wake up.

Why does only Islam require a protective carve-out in a country where no religion is purposefully supreme by constitutional design?

...Now the part that should worry every one of you. The bill orders every public official and every police officer in this state to “take into consideration” that definition when deciding whether someone broke a civil or criminal discrimination law. In New Jersey, a bias finding is what turns a minor offense into bias intimidation. That’s where the jail time comes in.

I spent 24 years in federal law enforcement and trained officers at FLETC. Cops investigate conduct. Assault is already a crime,Vandalism is already a crime, Spitting on someone is already a crime. Police have no business running a theology test on what’s in your head.

The sponsors admit they modeled this on a definition written by British members of Parliament. Look at Britain. People there get a knock on the door over a social media post. That’s the road this bill puts us on.

They added a line saying it won’t limit First Amendment rights. Then why hand police a list of opinions to treat as evidence of motive?

This bill has been introduced every session since 2022 and never got a vote. Democrats now control the Assembly, the Senate and the Governor’s office. Kill it in committee...

'Hostility' and 'fear' of Islam would be factors authorities could now consider when deciding whether to charge someone for an Islamophobia related or influenced case.

...Joe Danielsen's New Jersey bill A1146 includes "hostility and fear of Islam" among its examples of Islamophobia. Officials would have to consider its definition when investigating discrimination.

Muslims deserve the same protection from discrimination as everyone else. Islam deserves the same scrutiny as every other doctrine. A legislator unable to distinguish the two has no business teaching the distinction to the police.

I can't imagine why anyone in NJ would 'fear' Muslimness or even harbor the slightest, remotely hostile feelings.

Among other reasons.

In any event, I hope plenty of people remind Rep. Danielson that there is still a Constitution in this country, which covers NJ and the Muslims who live there, whether he and they like it or not.

...Meanwhile, controversial mosque construction proposals in Wayne and Marlboro have raised questions about zoning, religious liberty, and constitutional rights. Let's get something straight: THE FIRST AMENDMENT PROTECTS OFFENSIVE SPEECH. You have the constitutional right to criticize Islam, Christianity, Judaism, religious institutions, and government policies. Disagreement is NOT automatically discrimination. Criticism is NOT automatically harassment. And offending someone is NOT automatically a crime. The bill contains a First Amendment protection clause, but that doesn't eliminate legitimate questions about how government officials might apply its definitions. New Jersey already has laws protecting people of ALL religions from unlawful discrimination. So why is this additional legislation necessary, and what safeguards prevent its misuse against constitutionally protected speech? THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT GET TO DECIDE WHICH RELIGIOUS BELIEFS ARE BEYOND CRITICISM. Read A1146 for yourself.

Sadly for Muslimnessies, it also protects us from their propensity to claim victim status on a legislative and legally punitive scale.

Should the New Jersey legislature finally be so foolish as to pass this abomination, and Sherrill sign it?

It is going to be a legendary Supreme Court battle if it gets that far.

It should never have gotten this far to begin with.