www.scotsman.com/news/politics/politicians-urge-scottish-government-not-to-rush-gender-change-bill-1-4913919
Fifteen senior SNP politicians, including three government ministers and a deputy presiding officer of the Scottish Parliament, have called for the Scottish Government not to “rush” into legislation they claim could change the definition of what it means to be male and female.
MSPs Kate Forbes, Ash Denham and Ivan McKee, who are all government ministers, have signed a public letter laying out their concerns about the increasingly bitter debate around proposed changes to the Gender Recognition Act (GRA).
SNP colleagues Joan McAlpine, Ruth Maguire, Christine Grahame and Kenneth Gibson, along with their MP colleagues Carol Monaghan, Angus Macneil, Joanna Cherry and Patricia Gibson, are co-signatories.
The statement has also been signed by leading SNP councillors, including Chris McEleny, group leader at Inverclyde council, Caroline McAllister, deputy leader of the SNP group on West Dunbartonshire Council, Shaun Macaulay, deputy leader of the SNP group on North Ayrshire Council, and Lynne Anderson from North Lanarkshire Council.
In a challenge to the government and their own party, which meets for its annual conference this weekend, the 15 say that “conflating sex with gender identification affects a wide range of policy and service delivery, including data collection, education, health and social care, justice and sport. New information about this topic is emerging all the time and deserves to be properly scrutinised”.
The letter adds: “Changing the definition of male and female is a matter of profound significance. It is not something we should rush.”
The group welcomed last week’s intervention by equalities secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville in which she said people discussing transgender issues, self-identification of gender and women’s rights should “not be subject to knee-jerk accusations of transphobia”. They said all parliamentarians should be able to “discuss questions of law, policy and practice in relation to definitions of sex and gender in good faith, and without being subject to abuse of any kind”. [...]