Government rocked by transgender bill
(Edinburgh) A Scottish minister resigned from the pro-independence government on Thursday, opposing a controversial bill that aims to ease the transition of transgender people.
The bill, which passed the first stage of the legislative process in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday, removes the requirement for a medical and psychiatric diagnosis when applying for a gender recognition certificate.
It reduces the period during which an applicant must live in their acquired gender from two years to three months, with an additional three-month cooling-off period. The certificate could therefore be obtained after six months, according to this text.
The minimum age to apply for this certificate has been raised from 18 to 16.
Community Security Minister Ash Regan announced her resignation on Thursday. She explained to Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon that her "conscience" did not allow her to vote for this government text.
The text was voted by a majority of MPs on Thursday, supported by MPs from First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's Scottish National Party, as well as Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens.
"Legal gender recognition has been around for 18 years, but many people find the current system for obtaining a gender recognition certificate intrusive, medicalized and bureaucratic," Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison said in a statement ahead of the vote.
"The bill aims to simplify and improve the process for a transgender person to obtain legal recognition, giving them better access to their rights," she added.
"Our support for trans rights is not at odds with our strong and ongoing commitment to defending the rights and protections enjoyed by women and girls," said Shona Robinson.
It was thus trying to respond to the concerns of certain women's associations.
The subject of transidentity is particularly sensitive in the United Kingdom and regularly brings its share of controversies.
The author of the Harry Potter saga, J. K. Rowling, who lives in Scotland, has become one of the most vocal critics of trans activism. She sees it as a violation of women's rights, which has earned her accusations of transphobia and according to her death threats.
Targeting the Scottish bill, she tweeted a photo in October of herself wearing a T-shirt that read "Nicola Sturgeon, destroyer of women's rights."
The bill, which passed the first stage of the legislative process in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday, removes the requirement for a medical and psychiatric diagnosis when applying for a gender recognition certificate.
It reduces the period during which an applicant must live in their acquired gender from two years to three months, with an additional three-month cooling-off period. The certificate could therefore be obtained after six months, according to this text.
The minimum age to apply for this certificate has been raised from 18 to 16.
Community Security Minister Ash Regan announced her resignation on Thursday. She explained to Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon that her "conscience" did not allow her to vote for this government text.
The text was voted by a majority of MPs on Thursday, supported by MPs from First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's Scottish National Party, as well as Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens.
"Legal gender recognition has been around for 18 years, but many people find the current system for obtaining a gender recognition certificate intrusive, medicalized and bureaucratic," Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison said in a statement ahead of the vote.
"The bill aims to simplify and improve the process for a transgender person to obtain legal recognition, giving them better access to their rights," she added.
"Our support for trans rights is not at odds with our strong and ongoing commitment to defending the rights and protections enjoyed by women and girls," said Shona Robinson.
It was thus trying to respond to the concerns of certain women's associations.
The subject of transidentity is particularly sensitive in the United Kingdom and regularly brings its share of controversies.
The author of the Harry Potter saga, J. K. Rowling, who lives in Scotland, has become one of the most vocal critics of trans activism. She sees it as a violation of women's rights, which has earned her accusations of transphobia and according to her death threats.
Targeting the Scottish bill, she tweeted a photo in October of herself wearing a T-shirt that read "Nicola Sturgeon, destroyer of women's rights."
PRESS FRANCE AGENCY
Scotland | Government rocked by transgender bill| The Press (lapresse.ca)
Scotland | Government rocked by transgender bill| The Press (lapresse.ca)
