NYC to Fine Businesses $250,000 Who Dont Use the Correct Gender Pronoun SeriouslyBy Claire Bernish Yes, seriously. In a legal enforcement guidance issued under New York City Human Rights Law, employers and converted entities are now required to use an individuals preferred name, pronoun and title (e.g., Ms./Mrs.) regardless of the individuals sex assigned at birth, anatomy, gender, medical history, appearance, or the sex indicated on the individuals identification, reported the Washington Times. Though potentially well-intentioned, the policing of speech and, in this case, subjective interpretation represents the slipperiest of slopes, complete with grave financial consequences, particularly for smaller businesses. Issued in December, the mandate expands human rights law and notes some individuals prefer to be addressed by non gender-specific pronouns and titles, such as they/them/theirs or ze/hir. As the Times noted, the former are plurals being drafted for use in the singular, while the latter are among several alternative pronoun systems developed by academics and/or LGBT communities. While such systems certainly deserve respect for more fairly addressing individuals who feel they cannot be described in traditional language, the legislation with penalty of such a system is profoundly troubling for a society founded on freedom. This also marks a departure from the traditional construct that freedom of speech must vehemently defend the right of individuals to offend through language, rather than the right of others not to be offended. Careful consideration of this view isnt required for understanding its significance. Being offended is an inherently subjective position and in stripping the right to offend from even a single person, the dominoes of censorship quickly follow. New York Citys penalties for violation of the law evidence this clearly including the intentional and repeated refusal to use an individuals preferred name, pronoun or title. In other words, offending someone could now cost you severely. Misgendering will garner a fine of $125,000, but if it is the result of willful, wanton, or malicious conduct malicious and willful marking another subjective interpretation the maximum potential penalty doubles to $250,000. Even more absurdly, the guide claims businesses could avoid penalties by creating a policy of asking everyone what their preferred gender pronoun is so that no individual is singled out for such questions and by updating their system to allow all individuals to self-identify their names and genders. They should not limit the options for identification to male and female only. Is New York City testing the waters for Orwells infamous Thought Police? As cited by the Times, law professor Eugene Volokh penned in his blog, the Volokh Conspiracy, concerns about reckoning the law with First Amendment guarantees on free speech: So people can basically force us on pain of massive legal liability to say what they want us to say, whether or not we want to endorse the political message associated with the term, and whether or not we think its a lie. Beyond explosive current national discussion about the rights of transgendered individuals, it seems weve become a nation so concerned with whose feelings are trampled, the government has decided to legislate the controversy. Though the Bill of Rights and Constitution intended to protect us equally, the State clearly isnt seeing the forest for the trees on the matter of offending various groups. One quite specific and fundamentally crucial point those who offend should forever maintain in their favor over those feeling offended lies in the hurt persons ability to ignore the offensive speech. And even when that offensive speech intends to harm someone, the individual is under no obligation to continue the exchange. Aside from sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me, whatever happened to peoples ability to just walk away? Claire Bernish writes for TheFreeThoughtProject.com, where this article first appeared. What will they do to transgenders who disrespect transgenders? Or homosexuals who disrespect transgenders? What of them? Will they pro-rate fines for those who are marginally part of that demographic group? Do they get that special pass that non-LGBTXYZ do not get? Just hang a sign that says: Whateveras another connived contrived tempest in a tea pot with all this melodrama played out over the bought paid for zionist MSMall over 1-2% of the population foisted upon us ALL by the other 1% to deliberately create mass cognitive dissonance by taking our collective minds off the ball of We the Peopleby their blatant hijacking of the Constitution by rabid socio/psychopath dual-citizen zionist neocon Imperialists prosecuting the abject slaughter of brown-skinned innocent men women children at home here in the middle eastessentially Globally while the Banksters steal our jobs pensions former hard earned way of life et algot an hour? I have a long list of the atrocities currently being injected into our present Matrix miasma. An unconstitutional law is unenforceable. With a feeble minded, boorish SWAT team and a scoundrel judge any inane absurdity is enforceable. Seriously folks this new emphasis on trans-sexuality is nothing more than a feintlook here (and get all emotionally worked up over nothing) while we continue to commit war crimes, crash the global financial markets and generally piss off the rest of the world On the contrary: they are the center of the universe. Didnt you get the memo? Its also because people who still think voting matters are getting bored with the political pre-game show. Plus they are paving the way for transhumanism/AI where gender will be meaningless. There are usually several reasons for what shows up on the news feed. Its all such a yawn. This is bureaucratic mindless fascist insanity.. er, not that theres anything wrong with that. One of the few solutions for any harmless business that doesnt want to suffer organized NYC mob, excuse me, state theft is to address everyone as YO: because the world of people willing to claim aggrieved status in order to make a buck just got a little bit bigger.. So to ascertain what gender pronoun customers prefer it will be necessary to ask What gender pronoun(s) do you prefer? WRONG my preferred gender pronoun is not you but Your Exalted Supreme Majesty, Ruler of Heaven and Earth. Ill take my $250,000 please. Dont think for a moment that businesses can or will get around this by handing each potential customer who walks through the door a note that simply says Preferred gender pronoun / title / honorific ____? because that too could cause offence to someone who considers any and all gender identities and / or titles to be oppressive social constructs. Whoopee, Ill take another $250,000 please! Say something else, I dare ya! It was noted, long ago: Whom the Gods would destroy they first make insane. Mayor De Blasio and the NYC council provide fairly convincing proof of the truth of that observation. In the future all bathrooms are only good for one customer at a time. Get in line! Thank you, Mayor deAsshole. Archie Bunker is spinning in his grave 