Every generation faces a test. A moment when the freedoms we inherit are threatened not by foreign armies, but by the choices we make at home.
Today, in Michigan, that test has arrived.
House Bill 4938, introduced in Michigan’s legislature, is being sold as a safeguard for public morality but beneath the surface, it’s a blueprint for government control over speech, privacy, and personal expression. It would criminalize vast areas of online content, restrict VPN use, and give the state the power to decide what we as citizens can see, say, and believe.
House Bill 4938 isn’t just about pornography. It proposes a ban on vast categories of expression ranging from sexual art to depictions of transgender people. It seeks to criminalize VPNs, the very tools millions of Americans use to protect privacy online. When a democracy starts silencing its citizens in the name of “morality” history tells us exactly how that story ends.
Under the sweeping language of House Bill 4938, the reach of “prohibited material” could extend far beyond what most people would consider pornography. Its definitions are so broad that they could encompass films, books, plays, music, and even art that include sexual themes or depictions of gender identity. A classic like Romeo and Juliet could be flagged for its portrayal of teenage intimacy. Mrs. Doubtfire, a father wearing a disguise out of love for his children, could be criminal. Chicago or Cabaret could be deemed immoral for “sexualized performance.” Movies such as Brokeback Mountain or The Danish Girl could be outlawed entirely for depicting LGBTQ+ relationships. Even mainstream streaming platforms, libraries, and Broadway shows could be swept into compliance and forced to censor content or face enormous fines. What begins as a promise to protect morality could end as a state-sanctioned erasure of creativity, culture, and the human experience itself.
The penalties laid out in Michigan’s House Bill 4938 are not the measured tools of a free society; they are the punishments of a tyrannical regime and not that of a democratic republic. Under this proposal, a citizen who shares or even possesses what the state deems “prohibited material” could face 20 to 25 years in prison and fines reaching $125,000. As a comparison MCL 750.321 provides for a maximum penalty of 15 years and or a $7,500 fine for the act of voluntary manslaughter . Internet service providers who fail to block such content could be fined half a million dollars for each violation. And those who use or promote privacy tools such as VPNs, encrypted tunnels, the same technologies that journalists, businesses, and ordinary people rely on for safety, could be branded as felons.
If enacted, this bill would place the United States alongside China, Iran and Russia. Regimes that outlaw VPNs to monitor their citizens and silence dissent. And the lawmakers behind it? Their records reveal a clear pattern: restrict rights, narrow freedoms, and centralize control.
Meet the Sponsors of HB 4938
Josh Schriver (District 66)
Former teacher and behavior analyst, first elected in 2022.
He has pushed bans on hormonal birth control, pornography, same-sex marriage, and gender-affirming care. He voted against both the Juneteenth holiday and Michigan’s child-marriage ban, and promoted the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory before losing his committee assignments.
Matt Maddock (District 51)
A veteran legislator and businessman.
He introduced a bill to regulate “fact-checkers,” supported impeachment efforts against Gov. Whitmer over COVID restrictions, and has aligned himself with post-2020 election-fraud narratives.
James DeSana (District 29)
Farmer and businessman, first elected in 2022.
Member of Right to Life and Knights of Columbus. Co-sponsor of HB 4938, continuing his focus on socially conservative legislation.
Joseph Fox (District 101)
Former pastor and teacher, now vice-chair of the House Election Integrity Committee.
Backed stricter election-oversight measures and voted to hold the Secretary of State in contempt during procedural disputes.
Joseph Pavlov (District 64)
A retired teacher, newly elected in 2024.
Though fresh to public service, Pavlov has quickly aligned himself with the architects of HB 4938, lending his name to one of the most extreme censorship proposals in Michigan’s modern history
Jennifer Wortz (District 35)
Agricultural-communications background and former Moms for Liberty chair.
Introduced legislation that would force the Secretary of State to resign if seeking higher office; aligns with parental-rights activism that has driven classroom book bans across the country.
The Cost of Freedom
We must remember: freedom wasn’t gifted to us. We inherited it through the selfless sacrifice of blood, life, and treasure.
Generations of Americans fought and died so that we could speak freely, worship freely, assemble freely, and live without fear of government deciding what is acceptable thought. To trade those liberties for the false comfort of censorship would dishonor every life laid down to secure them.
