Lawmakers in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed a series of three bills on Tuesday meant to intensify the commonwealth’s treatment of hate crimes, an effort which many conservatives and Christians assert would have a chilling effect on religious speech.

Pennsylvania Democratic State Representatives Dan Frankel and Napoleon Nelson introduced a bill to swap the phrase “ethnic intimidation” with “hate-based intimidation” in the criminal code, as well as expand the category to include “gender identity,” “gender expression,” and “sexual orientation” in addition to race, color, religion, and national origin. Another bill would increase hate crime prevention training for police officers, while a third bill would incorporate “hate-based intimidation” into the state’s program to report youth violence in government schools.

Each of the bills were approved by substantial majorities of the Pennsylvania House, including several Republican lawmakers. While the legislation included language clarifying that the bills could not be used to “limit or punish religiously motivated speech or conduct that is otherwise protected by the Constitution of the United States,” the bills would also create a private cause of action to allow individuals who are offended by religious beliefs to file civil lawsuits.

[Imagine if you couldn’t speak out against the pro-terrorist mobs in the streets right now. Progs would love that and that’s where they’re going with all of this. ~ Beege]