[RedState] Just when you've thought you've heard it all from the Democrats in Virginia, along comes a Bangladeshi state lawmaker with a bill to make "Islamophobia" a "hate crime" and also "assault and battery." Not content to merely jack up taxes, hinder the deportations of violent illegals, and take away guns, Democrats in the Old Dominion are now attempting to police speech about Muslims.
SB624, which was introduced in January by State Senator Saddam Azlan Salim — a Democrat from Northern Virginia's 37th district — seeks to to "define and punish" cases of "Islamophobia" as it "relates to the crime of assault and battery as malicious prejudice or hatred directed toward Islam or Muslims."
Here's the full text of the bill, which has 14 Democrat co-sponsors and no Republicans signing on to it.
Assault and battery; definition of "Islamophobia"; penalty. Defines "Islamophobia" as it relates to the crime of assault and battery as malicious prejudice or hatred directed toward Islam or Muslims. This definition applies regardless of whether the victim is actually a practitioner of Islam, provided that the perpetrator targeted such victim based on a perceived adherence to such faith. The bill also clarifies that religious conviction includes Islam. The bill directs the Department of State Police, in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, to include the bill's definition of "Islamophobia" in its hate crime reporting central repository.
Might we point out the most bonkers part of this chilling attempt to stifle free speech? It's that "this definition applies regardless of whether the victim is actually a practitioner of Islam" bit. So, we start with the bogus concept of "Islamophobia" being a hate crime and the equivalent of assault, and then we extend it to include "victims" who aren't actually Muslim.
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