This is really scary stuff

[Moresandwiches]

www.spectator.co.uk/article/could-possession-of-the-bible-become-an-offence-in-scotland

Is this separate from or part of the law that defines woman but doesn't define man?

It's a different law.

Is there any way to stop this?

The Scottish government is so
it utterly inept that changes are it will head the same way as the named person legislation so I am not panicking yet. Never understand the utter morons that generally run the government. They can barely construct a sentence let alone enact sensible and workable legislation. I loathe Nicola Sturgeon but she is the only one with a brain and I assume she despairs every day at the quality of her colleagues

It has attracted a lot of high profile criticism eg from churches, free speech advocates, police, women's groups (the type that are able to define women). I think it's likely it will be abandoned the same way as Named Person was. It's just exhausting having these fights over and over again.

I find the prospect of this becoming law really concerning, and if it did, I would really reconsider whether I want to remain in Scotland in the future.

She might despair but she's in charge and desperate to capture the woke youth and be the radical left which is a dangerous place for moderate society. No one wants people to face crime and discrimination but this isn't the way to go, why not just properly police any abuse that people face regardless of whether they fit into a category? And make sure its actual abuse rather than just hurty feelings. We as a society should be more accepting of difference, so why are we feeling the need to create more boxes to put people in and differentiate the protection that they get?

Surely an abusive arse hole is the same abusive arse hole no matter who they direct their abuse at?

Here's hoping, Anne. But the Named Person plans affected all parents. It was something that ordinary people knew about and understood and were immediately adversely affected by. Will this get as much attention and understanding from those who could choose not to vote for the SNP?
England is a disaster zone too, in different ways. We're running out of places to go...

“What exactly is controversial about stopping violence and hatred?”
Re the above - the issue is how (and who) defines ‘hatred’. The Bill doesn’t define it. It isn’t tied like previous laws to incitement to violence or anything like that. Some people now accuse anyone who disagrees with them of ‘hatred’. In reality if the law doesn’t define it then the police / crown prosecutors will make the call. Most people who won’t have the resources of a JK Rowling for example will desist immediately and lose their right to freedom of speech even if it is likely that a court wouldn’t ultimately define it as hate. Additionally the Bill contains a specific carve out to say that merely expressing a view about religion/religious practices/homosexuality is in itself not an offence - the implication being that merely expressing a view about any other protected characteristic under the Bill might well be. It’s another typical example of the Scottish legislature drafting a Bill as widely as possible to maximise state/ crown discretion. That isn’t an acceptable thing to do with criminal law. People need to be able to understand clearly what they can and cannot do.

Will this get as much attention and understanding from those who could choose not to vote for the SNP?
I think less people 'on the street' know about it which is a concern. However, if institutions mobilise against it eg Churches, police - then they represent big swathes of the electorate. They also can use their own channels and media to get their members to campaign and complain.

Starting to get mainstream media attention:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-53735307

Good that it’s getting negative media attention. That seems to be the only thing that triggers a rethink of anything by the Scottish Government these days. Is anyone really worried though that the only thing protecting us from really badly written legislation (however well meaning) are pressure groups and celebrities? It’s not like this is the first poorly put together law that the SNP has pushed (or tried to push) through.

Anyone can report a hate crime under this bill. If you are in the pub and say to your friend something disparaging about Christianity, then any third party can report it as a hate crime.

The really worrying part is the creation of a power for ministers to add categories so an SNP minister might add disparaging the SNP as a hate crime.

What will happen to SNP support if independence actually happens?

then any third party can report it as a hate crime.

Or indeed your friend can report you if he thinks someone else might be offended. But then, being in possession of a bible could be a hate crime.

DHs view and I'm not sure i disagree, is that they have made it so abhorrent that it will trigger a backlash and they can then pull back and remove the worst bits and get all the other bits through that if they tried to get through normally, people would object. So it looks like they are listening to the people. They probably didn't anticipate the shitstorm around schools and exams also requiring u turns though...