As of: 01/16/2023 9:12 p.m
The British government is taking action against a controversial transgender law in Scotland. One sees equality rules violated, so the reasoning. Scotland’s Prime Minister Sturgeon said London uses trans people as a “political weapon”.
Britain’s Conservative government wants to block legislation to make it easier for trans people to change their gender in Scotland. According to the PA news agency, Minister Alistair Jack, responsible for Scotland, announced this in London. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government is concerned that the Scottish Regional Government’s plan breaches UK equality rules.
Scotland is so far the only part of the United Kingdom that has introduced legislation to simplify gender self-determination.
Easier to change gender entry earlier
The law aims to eliminate the requirement for a medical report as a prerequisite for changing the gender entry. The minimum age for an application should be lowered from 18 to 16 years. The length of time that a trans person must have lived in their new gender role should only be three months instead of two years, and six months for minors.
Trans people are people who do not identify with the gender they were assigned at birth. The Scottish Regional Parliament voted in favor of the law in December.
Scottish Prime Minister defends law
Critics of the law, such as Harry Potter author JK Rowling, fear men could use the regulations to enter areas reserved for women, such as changing rooms and toilets.
It is rather unusual that a law passed in Scotland is initially slowed down in London and does not become national law. Scotland’s Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon had warned London against a blockade. The leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) accused the central government of using trans people as a “political weapon”. “This is a frontal attack on our democratically elected Scottish Parliament and its ability to make its own decisions on delegated matters,” Sturgeon wrote on Twitter.
The conflict is likely to increase tensions between London and Edinburgh. He could now end up before the High Court in London. Other countries, including Ireland, Denmark and Argentina, have already enacted transgender laws.
The scheme is partly reminiscent of traffic light plans
In Germany, too, the government is planning a self-determination law. This is intended to replace the previous transsexual law. It should enable a uniform regulation for transgender and intersex as well as non-binary people to change the gender entry and the first name.
In the future, this should only be possible by means of a declaration in front of the registry office. According to the will of Federal Family Minister Lisa Paus, the new law should be passed before the parliamentary summer recess this year.