Scotland: Bill Seeks to Criminalize Opponents of Gender Theory

The Conference of Catholic Bishops of Scotland (BCOS) - joined in its initiative by the Evangelical Alliance and the Free Church of Scotland, two Protestant denominations - on February 12, 2021, sent a letter to Cabinet Secretary for Justice Humza Yousaf.

In this letter religious leaders express their fear over the bill the Edinburgh government wants to bring to the Scottish Parliament. The bill could categorize as a “hate crime” any position that questions the foundations of gender theory.

“We cannot accept that any position or opinion at variance with the proposition that sex (or gender) is fluid and changeable should not be heard,” warn the authors of the letter, who stress that the “discussion and criticism of these views is vital.”

Catholic and Protestant leaders warn: “An open and honest debate on the very essence of the human person should never be stifled. We believe provision must therefore be made in the bill for discussion and criticism of views on transgender identity without fear of criminal sanctions.”  

In the current version of the bill, there is a great risk of confusing “hate attacks” and “ disagreement or dispute with an ideological position,” the BCOS points out.

The ball is now in the court of the Scottish government, which has just under a month to review its copy before bringing the bill to Parliament.

However, we must not be too hopeful. Indeed, this development was predictable, since in many countries anti-discrimination laws target those who show an attitude of opposition towards “transgender” people. So it makes sense to go back to the source and stigmatize those who oppose gender theory.

Speaking of similar or related issues has been muzzled for a long time now.