Scotland gender reforms: UK ministers could hold back the law

• The UK government might try to stop gender reforms in Scotland.
• UK government is worried about women and children’s safety.
• The Scottish Parliament does not have the power to change the Equality Act” – Helen Belcher.

The UK government might try to stop changes in Scotland that would make it easier for people to change their gender.

It comes after the Scottish Parliament voted to lower the age at which people can apply to change their legal gender to 16 and to stop requiring a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria.

But this has caused a fight with the UK government, which is worried about women and children’s safety.

The Scottish government, led by Nicola Sturgeon, says it will fight if anyone tries to stop it.

Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) approved the controversial self-identification system on Thursday by a vote of 86 to 39. The system makes it easier for people to get a gender recognition certificate (GRC).

The UK government could stop the bill from becoming law by blocking Royal Assent, which is when the King gives the bill his formal approval and it becomes an Act of the Scottish Parliament. It has also not said that it won’t go to court.

Kemi Badenoch, the UK Minister for Women and Equalities, said that the Scottish government had not talked about how the bill would change the lives of women and girls.

She said in a statement, “The UK government is now looking at rules that can force a rethink and give MSPs a chance to talk about these problems.”

Alister Jack, the Scottish Secretary, said, “We will look at that closely, as well as what it means for the 2010 Equality Act and other UK-wide laws, in the coming weeks. If necessary, we will use a Section 35 order to stop the Bill from getting Royal Assent.”

Under UK law, it is possible to try to get Scottish laws thrown out by saying that they go against UK-wide equalities laws. This ability has never been used.

But a spokesman for the Scottish government said that the UK should not try to “undermine the democratic will of the Scottish Parliament.”

She also said, “The bill as it was passed is well within the power of the legislature, and it was supported by a huge majority of people from all parties.”

“It would be bad if the UK government went down this path, to put it mildly.”

Alex Cole-Hamilton, leader of the Scottish Lib Dems, said on the show that he would be “disappointed” if the UK government decided to block the bill.

“I think it’s inevitable that this bill will end up in court in some way,” he said. “But I’m confident that we’ve looked at it carefully and tested it in Parliament to make sure it can stand up to any court challenge.”

Will the law change the Equality Act in any way?
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said in the past that she would “never apologise for trying to make our country more equal, not less equal.”

Opponents of the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, like the nine SNP MSPs who voted against it, are worried about how it might affect women and girls, especially in places like toilets that are only for one gender.

The Scottish government says that not much will change and that the parts of the Equality Act that say trans people can’t use single-sex spaces in certain situations will stay the same.

Dr. Michael Foran, who teaches public law at Glasgow University, pointed out that the bill has a section that says it won’t change any of the Equality Act’s rules. Because of this, he said, it’s probably within Holyrood’s power.

But he said that didn’t mean the bill didn’t change the law “as it relates to the Equality Act.”

He said, “One of the protected characteristics is sex, and if they change who can be covered by one category of sex versus the other, that could change how the Equality Act works.” That’s a pretty complicated legal argument, but it would leave the door open to challenges.”

Helen Belcher, who is in charge of the charity Trans Actual, which fights for trans rights, said that the Equality Act would not be affected by the Scottish law.

“The Scottish Parliament does not have the power to change the Equality Act,” she said.

She also said that trans rights shouldn’t be limited because “a few people” could benefit from changes to the law.

“It won’t surprise your audience that bad people do bad things and break the law. But that doesn’t mean that trans people shouldn’t be treated with a little bit of respect,” she said.

Since 2005, people in Scotland have been able to legally change from male to female or from female to male.

The Scottish government thinks that the current process for getting a Gender Recognition Certificate can be intrusive and upsetting, making people less likely to apply for one.

When the new rules go into effect, which is expected to be sometime next year, applicants will only need to have lived in their new gender for three months, or six months if they are 16 or 17. Before, they had to have done so for two years.

There will also be a three-month “reflection period” during which they can change their minds. It will be illegal to make a false declaration or false application for a GRC, and anyone who does so could spend up to two years in prison.

By going through the process again, it will be possible to change back.

The Irish Republic, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, and Switzerland are among the nine other European countries that already have self-declaration systems for legal gender recognition.

Also on Thursday, Spain passed a bill that moves the country one step closer to letting people change their official gender by filling out a form.

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