Apologies for the essay below:
We desperately need you to contact your MSP re the bill which was passed today. There is a great explanation of the situation here from Dr Nic Williams of Fair Play for Women
In a nutshell, the Scottish government have now redefined the legal meaning of the word "woman". It has now been expanded to include:
"A person who has the protected characteristic of gender reassignment...if, and only if, the person is living as a woman, and is proposing to undergo, is undergoing, or has undergone a process, or part of a process, for the purpose of becoming female
They have passed this bill in anticipation of changes to gender recognition law in Scotland. That's the law that hasn't been passed, indeed the law which has only just concluded it's consultation period.
We urgently need people to write to their MSPs, or better still meet them, to register your protest against this bill and the lack of consultation. Even the Equality and Human Rights Commission have raised questions about the bill - they have been ignored.
Why should the Scottish government get to redefine the word woman without so much as a by our leave? Why do they think we should accept men as part of our sex class? Why do they constantly conflate sex with gender, mixing them up so nothing is clear anymore? Just exactly what happened in Scottish government to make them think the beliefs of a tiny minority should influence policy?
Please, please please please, make your voice heard. Write to your MSP, tell your friends to do the same, meet your MSP and tell them that you do not accept this. I can help with letters if anyone needs any pointers but the strongest way to object is to write a personal letter telling your MSP exactly what you think.
TL, DR: Please write to your MSP re today's bill to register your protest