Unsplash/@vladsargu
A California appeals court has ruled that a state law that requires nursing home staff to use transgender pronouns is a violation of their free speech rights.Â
In a unanimous 3-0 decision Friday from the California Third District Court of Appeals, judges ruled against a 2017 rule that penalizes non-compliant health care providers who repeatedly fail to use trans-identified residents' preferred names or pronouns.Â
Violations could be prosecuted as misdemeanors, and violators could face 180 days in jail and a $2,500 fine.Â
The court held that what is known as âmisgenderingâ a transgender-identified person with pronouns denoting biological sex may indeed be âdisrespectful, discourteous, or insulting. However, âthe First Amendment does not protect only speech that inoffensively and artfully articulates a personâs point of view.â