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Scottish First Minister Threatens Court Challenge to Westminster Block on Trans Self-ID Law

© AFP 2023 / RUSSELL CHEYNE / Scotland's First Minister Nicola SturgeonScotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon - Sputnik International, 1920, 17.01.2023
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Feminists, including Harry Potter writer J.K. Rowling, have opposed the new law passed by the devolved Scottish parliament in December that will make it easier for male transsexuals to access female-only spaces.
The head of Scotland's devolved administration has threatened legal action after the British PM confirmed Westminster will block its new transgender ID legislation.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the government would deny royal assent, the king's permission required to ratify new legislation, to the controversial Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill passed by the Edinburgh-based Scottish assembly in December.
The government will for the first time invoke Section 35 of the 1998 Scotland Act — the legal basis for Scottish devolution — to nullify the controversial legislation.
The bill would allow individuals to obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC), giving them the legal status as a member of the opposite sex, without the current requirement under UK law of a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria. Some critics have pointed out that citizens from any part of the UK could obtain a GRC from Scottish authorities on that basis, essentially overriding national law.
Scottish Secretary Alistair Jack told Sturgeon in a letter that the proposed change in the law would impact on existing UK legislation for women's rights.
"The bill would have a significant impact on, amongst other things, GB-wide equalities matters in Scotland, England and Wales," Jack wrote.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, the leader of the separatist Scottish National Party, vowed to appeal the decision in the Court of Session, Scotland's Supreme Court.
She called the government's move a "full-frontal attack on our democratically elected Scottish Parliament and it's [sic] ability to make it's [sic] own decisions on devolved matters" in a tweet on Monday night.
"The Scottish Government will defend the legislation an stand up for Scotland’s Parliament. If this Westminster veto succeeds, it will be first of many," Sturgeon claimed.
At a press conference, the first minister called government's decision an "outrage" and accused it of using "trans people as a political weapon" against the SNP administration in Holyrood.
The legislation has been strenuously opposed by feminist and lesbian groups, who point to several cases where transsexual biological males have assaulted or raped women after being granted entry to female-only toilets, changing rooms and prisons.
Sturgeon has previously implied that Scottish-resident Harry Potter authoress J.K. Rowling, an outspoken opponent of allowing transsexuals access to women's single-sex spaces, was not a "real feminist".
Rowling received rape and death threats after criticising a web article which referred to “people who menstruate” rather than simply calling them "women". In December the writer announced she as funding the female-only Beira's Place rape crisis centre in Edinburgh, but Charity Rape Crisis Scotland said it should also cater to trans and non-binary people.
Gender dysphoria, formerly known as gender identity disorder, is the psychiatric classification of transsexuals which has for decades underpinned the provision of hormone replacement therapy and gender reassignment surgery on the taxpayer-funded National Health Service.
European, Scottish and Great Britain flags float in front of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland, Wednesday, Sept 4, 2019. The Scottish court says British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's planned suspension of Parliament is lawful. The closely watched decision was revealed Wednesday. It is the first of several challenges to Johnson's maneuver that gives lawmakers little time to prevent Britain from crashing out of the European Union without an agreement on Oct. 31.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 16.01.2023
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UK Gov't Decides to Block Scotland's Gender Recognition Reform Bill
The last legal challenge to Westminster by Sturgeon's administration was over its attempt to unilaterally call a repeat of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, which voters rejected by a margin of 10 per cent. The Supreme Court in London ruled in November that the Scottish parliament did not have the legal powers to legislate for such a vote.
The SNP's vision of independence includes applying for membership of the European Union, which the UK voted to leave in 2016, and military alliance NATO. They would also keep the British monarch as head of state and use the pound sterling, backed by the financial clout of the City of London and the Bank of England's gold reserves, as their currency.
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