New hate crime laws came into effect in Scotland this Monday. The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act introduces new offences regarding threatening/abusive behaviour towards things like religion, age, disabilities, transgender identity, sexual characteristics and sexual orientation.
Racially motivated hate crimes remain as a different bill, section 96 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.
There are already hate crime laws in place. But the new bill includes a broader, more modern, range and puts most of the existing laws into one bill rather than multiple different ones.
The new act also abolished the blasphemy law, as there have been no persecutions in Scotland for over 175 years.
Furthermore, it ensures that protection laws are accurate to the 21st century. It also removes the term ‘intersexuality’ from the definition of transgender in the bill.
If a person is found guilty of breaking this new law, they can face up to a seven-year prison sentence.
There is a lot of backlash and controversy surrounding this law regarding the protection of free speech. There were protests against the bill outside of Parliament on Monday and discussions online regarding the topic.
JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, has made several posts bashing the Scottish government for implementing this new bill. She has been very vocal about her dislike for transgender people, especially transgender women, for years.
Rowling claims that this new law disregards free speech, and made many posts mocking trans people, and referring to trans women as men in multiple posts, overall spreading hate.
She stated via X “I look forward to being arrested when I return to the birthplace of the Scottish Enlightenment.”
Siobhan Brown, Minister for Victims and Community Safety stated that “Protections for freedom of expression are built into the legislation passed by Parliament,” This means that free speech is protected, and hate speech is illegal.
The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act was passed in the Scottish Parliament in 2021 and as of April 1st 2024, is in effect.
Featured Image: @scotparl on Instagram
