Michigan Bill Could Open the Door to Expanding the Registry
A new bill introduced by lawmakers in Michigan, HB 4938 — the so-called “Anticorruption of Public Morals Act” — would not only ban first amendment protected expression but could also create new pathways for people to be added to the sex offender registry. The measure is written so broadly that it would make it a felony to make, share, or even view pornography online. It does not stop at traditional adult material, but goes further by including things like written or animated depictions, digital simulations, and even “sensual voice content” such as moaning. It also bans any content that reflects what the bill calls a “disconnection between biology and gender,” which could sweep in depictions of transgender and nonbinary people simply expressing themselves.
The penalties are extreme — up to 20 years in prison and fines of $100,000, with even harsher punishment for those found with more than 100 pieces of prohibited content. Of course being placed on the sex offender registry comes with the penalty. With provisions requiring platforms and individuals to detect and remove prohibited content in real time, enforcement will likely be messy, overreaching, and indiscriminate.
Critics point out that the bill is not only unconstitutional under the First Amendment, but also dangerous because it expands the criminal net in ways that guarantee more people will be labeled as sex offenders. What begins as an attempt to legislate morality could end up adding thousands to a registry that is already bloated, dysfunctional, and punitive far beyond its original purpose. If passed, this law would represent one of the most sweeping overreaches in the nation, and it underscores the urgent need to push back against legislation that expands the scope of criminalization and needlessly funnels more people into the registry.
Discover more from Florida Action Committee (FAC)
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Sadly,
I have to agree with ” obvious answers.”If more and more people become ensnared in this ridiculus registry, maybe people will see what a calamity it is; and take action. Right now, most know nothing about it and would never, in a million years, expect “they” would become victims of the registry.
fantastic idea.. keep at it ..Only way to end the registry is to let everyone get a taste of being on it and this bill is sure to do that. on a side note one thing history teaches us is that every radical politician that attempts to “legislate morality” often has the largest dancing skeletons in the closet and tends to be the largest Epstein perv ..
So true. It’s usually a diversion tactic.
Whoever proposed such a law, needs to be stoned!
Election material only for the sake of political credibility needed to be re-elected and nothing more. They know this will not pass constitutional muster as they’ve been told. They should be personally billed and wages garnished for wasting people’s time and the people’s money on such actions.
When everyone is too poor to pay any taxes, what will they do then?
With FTR violations they’ll have a perma-prison populous. Kind of feels like what the lawmakers are going for.