WRITE TO YOUR MP

[GeneticTest]

I work for an MP.

We’ve had very few emails about GRA in the last few years- mostly against self ID.

We’ve had 4 emails in the last few days all outraged at this attack on transgender people.
All very similar. It’s a campaign.

We must keep emailing so MPs don’t think everyone agrees with the TRAs.

(My MP is GC)

Please- email your MP and let them know your views.

I wrote to my MP last week, and CCd in the women and equalities committee. I've had no response so far.

My MP has gone AWOL since the beginning of lockdown. Or maybe she just sees my email address and ignores it.

Letters/emails need to go sooner rather than later. Liz Truss to respond on GRA consultation before recess.
twitter.com/carolinenokes/status/1277619909611130882

I just got a really nice reply from my Conservative male mp. It was along the same lines as other Tory replies, but he also addressed some of my personal concerns in a very sympathetic manner and said he’d like to meet to talk about the issues in person, when appropriate.
I sent quite a ranty email to Kier Starmer yesterday - so be interesting to see if I get anything back from his office.
I’m thinking about sending one to LibDems later (now I’m on a roll) to tell them I’m voting Conservative next time. I’ve always voted LibDem
because I’m in an area where Labour have never had a chance, but am I right in thinking they support self ID too?

One thing to remember is that most of these responses may very well be written by assistants in the MP's office, so the replies may very well be influenced by their politics. If your MP is Labour, and you live in an area with a significant source of high SJW youth (like a university), you may be getting a momentum-infused response.

It's worth writing back and requesting a firm statement on what they do or do not support. If your MP says they fully support reforms to the GRA and self-id, do not end it there.

Ask them to clarify that they then support the abolition of single sex wards, prisons, abd psychiatric wings, and do not support the right for elderly women to request biologically female HCPs and carers for their intimate care needs. Point out the religious and cultural implications of this (I honestly believe it is possible one of the most racist and discriminatory policy suggestions I've come across in twenty five years of being involved in politics, as it essentially disenfrachises huge numbers of men and women, from across all ethnic, religious and cultural boundaries, from public space).

Say if you receive no response, you will presume they do support these measures and will inform other people in your family and community that this is the case.

It is time to play hardball.

Sorry for the typos above. I'm on my phone and it's started happening since I installed a language pack that sits within my English language keyboard.

No response yet from my MP who I emailed over a week ago. Hopefully Liz Truss (I cc'd her and the women and equalities committee) sees that there are people who want her to keep on even if they don't reply.

I he started a thread earlier about the response I got today which basically just linked me to a statement in a website which only really discussed what could be palmed off as someone elses responsibility ie the gra reform/liz truss etc and failed to address any points I made about allowing lobby groups to access schools, and the dismantling of safeguarding when it comes to gender identity issues. I have replied again asking him about whether there will be any kind of review into the distribution of inappropriate materials to children by external agencies when schools are outsourcing aspects of teaching, and asking again about the promised enquiry onto the 4000 percent increase in girls wanting to transition.

Am actually really appalled at the avoidance of answering the questions

Thank you, some good ideas here, I think I will reply to my MP. This was her initial response to me—

• Thank you for contacting me about reform of the Gender Recognition Act (GRA).

I believe that reform of the GRA should be used to progress rights in this country. Before I was elected to parliament I was an employment rights lawyer for many years - I had clients who were trans and saw the intolerable levels of discrimination that they all too often faced in the workplace.

I have long called on the Government to introduce a system of self-declaration for trans people. I also believe it is important that the Government does not interfere with protections under the Equality Act, which ensure that trans people are not wrongfully excluded from single-sex spaces.

As you will be aware, in July 2017, the Government committed to review the GRA to examine “options to streamline and demedicalise the gender recognition process.” The Government committed to consulting on reforming the GRA and launched its consultation in July 2018. This consultation closed in October 2018 and the Government is yet to officially respond.

I am concerned that delays in reforming the GRA have created a hostile environment for LGBT+ people.

I am committed to championing the rights of the trans community who often suffer some of the worst violence and hate crime. There is more we can do to ensure this country is inclusive to all people regardless of their gender identity.

I am aware concerns have been raised regarding reports over the Government’s plans to scrap proposals to allow people to change their legal gender by self-identifying. I am also aware that further concerns have been raised over reported proposals to set out new safeguards to protect female-only spaces.

This is a nuanced and fraught debate, one which I do not feel is appropriate to handle through social media or through the leaking of review recommendations.

It is very important we work closely with others in scrutinising the Government’s proposals once they are finally published. These discussions must be conducted on the basis of fact and respect.

I am determined to listen and understand the challenges facing the trans community to help deliver change and put the right policies in place to protect and respect everyone’s rights.

Thank you once again for contacting me about this important issue. I will continue to monitor developments closely.*

Hi. I thought I'd share the response from my MP, as I found it quite encouraging - especially with all the rubbish that's been going on recently.

I think I overshared a bit in my letter to him, which I feel a bit awkward about now (he knows things about me that even my closest friends and family don't!) but I wanted to get over just how much this matters to me and why.

Some of his reply does sound like it's from a template, but other parts sound 'from the heart'. He signed with just his first name as well.

I am absolutely committed to protecting women’s rights and freedoms. I am especially glad that the Minister for Women and Equalities has recently said that any reforms will ensure the protection of single-sex spaces, which I recognise is extremely important.
I know that many people also have concerns about the impact of this legislation on children. I have raised this with colleagues in the Government and Equalities Office who have assured me of their commitment to ensuring under 18s are protected from making decisions that are irreversible in the future. I believe strongly that adults should have the freedom to live their life but I do think it is very important we protect young adults, who are still developing their decision making processes and capabilities, from taking action which they potentially cannot reverse

This bit is pretty much word for word what I was signposted to.

Tbh it's not as positive as it sounds really.

It all hinges on what their definition of women is as any words about single sex spaces are meaningless without this definition. And this is the one thing even those who havent said twaw, have yet to enlighten us with get constitutes a woman.

And the part about children, may sound reassuring BUT would there be so much of a need to worry about irreversible damage to children if these groups were stopped from coming into schools and reinforcing stereotypes. Surely the school bullying policies should cover everything. What's the point of them being there if not to influence the children.

@northstars are you tooting by any chance? Amazing line to come from a qualified doctor, huh?

[quote TryAnotherNickname]@northstars are you tooting by any chance? Amazing line to come from a qualified doctor, huh?[/quote]
@TryAnotherNickname not Tooting, am in south east London! Have you heard similar from your MP?

Don’t have it to hand but pretty much identical- from a medical doctor. Her twitter occasionally gets spicy with people wanting to know if that means she provides inappropriate treatment/ withholds necessary screening on the basis of the self id rather than biology. She remains adamant that a person can self identify as pretty much anything

shamelessly bumping

My MP probably think transpeople should be stuck in a camp or something, along with the women and the gays and the brown people.

I give up. I was checking out redundancy for my sister (just laid off). Oh look, you can’t be laid off on the basis of ‘sex’ - nah I’m kidding, it’s ‘gender’ 🙄

I think the worse thing about all this is we know they are all lying. And they know we know they are lying. They are cowards the lot of them. Not a single person would look at some of these peope and truly believe they are who they say they are. If they did then they would not systematically ignore us,.dodge questions, send out standard responses that say nothing , spout lies constantly even though it's been proven to be an lie, and keep doubling down and repeating these lies until it results in the inevitable situation where they have to follow everything through to its logical conclusion, and commit career suicide by ending up stood in a room full of people and their camera phones saying that a male rapist is still the most oppressed on earth and belongs in a.womans prison.

I am.so very angry thay they would rather do that and leave every single one of us women banging our heads against a wall and lying to our faces.

Who would like to join me in bumping this thread every time it leaves the first page? It is SO IMPORTANT... I'm keen everyone of us who wants to does so....

I have met my male Tory MP and wrote to him to thank him and Liz for standing up for women. I got a really good reply with an invitation to meet again.

He's supportive, he says they are committed and he has a special interest in prisons and reforms so he also gets it.

so love hearing there are SOME positive interactions with MPs!

I emailed my Tory MP, too soon for a reply.

I'd emailed back in Oct 2018, the first reply from her staff member back then had assumed I was in favour of the GRA and was vague generic words about supporting everyone. When I rather crossly replied that they clearly hadn't read my email I'd got a much better more individual reply saying my MP had passed on my concerns.

Is it fair to assume that because there is a whopping Tory majority, reform would be voted down or kicked into the long grass anyway? If the Times article is right, that is.

Someone posted a response from Lamy on twitter. He doesn’t surprise to be honest.

I've emailed my MP ( Andrew Mitchell) about the sex dice RSE game and he's passed it to the education minister for response