In the Scottish Parliament last night, there were screams of “shame on you” when MSPs voted to allow rapists and violent sex predators to self-identify as women under Nicolas Sturgeon’s gender changes
During yesterday night’s decisive vote, an attempt to stop one of the most contentious provisions of the bill by inserting a clause prohibiting persons on the sex offenders’ register from obtaining a gender recognition certificate (GRC) was narrowly defeated.
It provoked furious scenes in the public gallery, as demonstrators heckled MSPs with screams of “there is no democracy here” before being escorted out of the building.
The majority of SNP and Green MSPs voted against a move to reject plans to decrease the legal age for applying for a GRC from 18 to 16; nonetheless, it provoked conflict within Nationalist MSPs.
After last night’s vote in the Scottish Parliament on Nicola Sturgeon’s gender changes, there were tense scenes.
The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill will eliminate the current requirement for a gender dysphoria diagnosis to obtain a gender recognition certificate (GRC).
Neil Murray, the husband of J.K. Rowling, participated in a demonstration outside Holyrood, where he branded the result a’stain’ on the Scottish Parliament.
She said, “I really wanted to be with you tonight, but family obligations prevented that.
‘However, if you see a man in the throng who closely resembles my husband, it will be because he is my husband. Neil volunteered to attend in my absence; I didn’t even have to ask him.
“We are all aware of why women across Scotland are currently taking a stance, often at great personal risk. We have united to oppose the most significant rollback of women’s rights in our lifetimes.
Foreign and domestic experts have warned the government and its allies that this ill-considered legislation may pose grave hazards to women, but the Prime Minister and her friends have failed to listen.
I believe that this law, which public opinion polls indicate is strongly opposed, will be viewed as a stain on the Scottish parliament and on the resumes of every MSP who voted for it.
She said, ‘Whether this bill succeeds or not, the fight is not over, and I’m with you every step of the way. We are the women who never weep.
Today, MSPs rejected a number of proposed amendments to the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill.
The vote on Russell Findlay’s proposal proposing an exemption for sex offenders prompted the “shame on you all” demonstration in the public gallery.
As a result, the Presiding Officer halted proceedings until the public gallery was removed.
Rachael Hamilton, the equality spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives, stated, “These improvements should have been uncontroversial.” However, the SNP has opted to allow dangerous predators to self-identify as women and gain access to single-sex settings.
This is completely unjustifiable to women, girls, and the vast majority of the Scottish populace.
Eight SNP MSPs voted against the Scottish Government on the issue of excluding sex offenders: former community safety minister Ash Regan, former energy secretary Fergus Ewing, and backbenchers Jim Fairlie, Stephanie Callaghan, Kenneth Gibson, Ruth Maguire, John Mason, and Michelle Thomson.
The same eight SNP MSPs as well as Annabelle Ewing supported the amendment opposing lowering the age to 16.
Ministers were also accused of attempting to “shut down scrutiny” and “suppress” their own backbenchers after mailing letters pushing MSPs to withdraw amendments that, according to them, would render their legislation unconstitutional if passed.
During yesterday’s debate, Mr. Findlay stated, “Anyone can simply proclaim that they have changed sex, and the state will help their transition.”
“My amendments aim to prohibit male criminals who have already misled and deceived from committing major misconduct; their victims are nearly invariably women and girls.”
Minister of Social Justice Shona Robison stated that her proposed revisions were ‘proportionate, legal, and compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights’ However, the SNP minister refused to explain why she believed such precautions to be illegal.
The Scottish Government confirmed its intention to support requiring registered sexual offenders to inform the police if they want to apply for a GRC.
During a candlelit vigil, protesters are seen demonstrating against what they perceive to be a loss of women’s rights in Scotland.
The chief constable of Police Scotland could then alert the Registrar General, who could conduct a risk assessment and potentially halt or reject the application.
Jackie Baillie, the deputy leader of the Scottish Labour Party, stated, “Members of this parliament are correct to listen to the concerns of women who are concerned about the system being misused by those with ill intentions.”
These adjustments are a reasonable and proportional way to provide this confidence.
MSPs voted 87 to 37 against a Tory motion that would have lowered the GRC application age from 18 to 16.
Yesterday at Holyrood, during a marathon debate that lasted well into the night, SNP MSP Ash Regan, who quit her position as community safety minister to vote against the legislation, said: ‘I do not believe that 16-year-olds are the appropriate age for such a profound change, as many would consider it to be.’
She read aloud a letter she had received from a mother whose autistic, anxiety- and depression-stricken 15-year-old daughter self-diagnosed gender dysphoria three years ago and now identifies as male.
In the letter, the mother stated, ‘I believe she has been influenced by social media and contemporary societal norms. The adolescent years are a time of transition, so her current feelings may alter as she matures.
‘The school and the NHS have adopted a positive stance despite my worries as a parent, and I do not agree that the government should decrease the age at which young people can self-identify to 16 years old, as social transitioning is frequently the first step on the way to medicalisation and surgery.
“I was convinced and pressured into calling my daughter by her new name and pronouns, despite the fact that this was horrible advice and has put our family on a very difficult path.
I feel that an attentive, patient, and holistic approach that considers all aspects of a young person’s life is optimal.
Miss Regan stated, “The minimum age should be 18 and no lower, and we should use tremendous prudence in this area.”
However, the remarks prompted a furious response from one of her colleagues.
Emma Roddick, SNP MSP, remarked to Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison, “I simply wanted to acknowledge that a young man’s identification was recently questioned in the Scottish Parliament.
And I wonder whether she would concur that it is bad and provide him support for something that should never have occurred.
Fergus Ewing, the former SNP Energy Secretary, contested Miss Robison’s claim that the Bill’s principles were supported by a “large majority” of MSPs.
He stated, “While there may be one perspective here, and even a majority here, all the evidence of the views of the people of Scotland, as documented in poll after poll, demonstrates unequivocally that a considerable majority of people in Scotland – between 68% and 81% – oppose lowering the age to 16.”
Yesterday, concerns were also expressed over the encouragement of MSPs to withdraw critical amendments.
In a letter to Tory MSP Russell Findlay, SNP backbencher Michelle Thomson, and Labour’s Jackie Baillie late on Monday evening, Miss Robison stated that incorporating some of their amendments into the Bill would pose a “serious risk of being outside the legislative competence of the Parliament” and that she would need to postpone today’s final stage 3 debate (WED).
She further asserted that they may violate the European Convention on Human Rights.
Yesterday, the Tories failed in their attempt to delay today’s stage 3 vote in order to provide more time for review.
Alexander Burnett, chief whip of the Scottish Tories, asserted that a future Scottish Parliament will need to fix and remove the “hurried legislation passed during this disgraceful term in office” and stated MSPs should be “very humiliated.”
Meanwhile, today’s (WEDS) Christmas carols at Holyrood have been canceled due to the likelihood that parliamentarians will still be engaged in gender reform talks.
