J.K. Rowling has vowed to continue “calling a man a man” in defiance of controversial new SNP hate crime laws, which she branded “ludicrous”. The Telegraph has more.
The Harry Potter author said she would not delete her social media posts, in which she has regularly argued that trans women are not women, to avoid being taken to court “under this ludicrous law”.
She said she would instead “do some more accurate sexing” after the legislation takes effect at the start of next month, despite predictions that LGBT campaigners plan to use it to target her. Rowling lives in Edinburgh.
Humza Yousaf oversaw the passage of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act at Holyrood in 2021, when he was Justice Secretary in Nicola Sturgeon’s Government.
It will come into force on April 1st after Police Scotland said it needed time for “training, guidance and communications planning”.
The legislation creates a criminal offence of “stirring up of hatred”, expanding on a similar offence based on racist abuse that has been on the statute book for decades.
Offences are considered “aggravated”, meaning they could lead to stiffer sentences, if they involve prejudice on the basis of age, disability, race, religion, sexual orientation or transgender identity.
But concerns have been expressed that the legislation’s definition of a hate crime is too ambiguous, potentially leading to a “chilling” effect on freedom of speech and a torrent of vexatious complaints being made to police.
Joanna Cherry KC, an SNP MP and feminist who has been highly critical of the Scottish Government’s gender policies, has said she had “no doubt” that the new laws “will be weaponised against women exercising their right to freedom of speech”.
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