100,000 signatures on the Equality Act - What next

[MForstater]

Thank you everyone for your amazing work promoting the petition. It all got quite exciting!

What next?

It will stay open till April 20th and its good to keep getting more people to sign. We will try to get some more press coverage of it.

The main thing now is to write to MPs and encourage them to show interest and for them to write to the Petitions Committee and to Kemi. (257 people have already today!)

We have a webinar planned for the end of March on how we think the Equality Act and the GRA interact and why and how the law needs to be clarified.

Happy to answer questions on here too.

sex-matters.org/take-action/write-to-your-mp-about-the-petition/

ResisterRex · Today 17:48
Petition covered in The Times

MPs to consider gender petition backed by JK Rowling
www.thetimes.co.uk/article/4534821c-bf89-11ed-b52d-512231a0c9aa?shareToken=a2be6368ec3ec1a7a1e413545f54b9d9

That is such good news. The article really does explain the problem well in a way that makes it seem simple. It will make it much more difficult for MPs to come up with answers that miss the point ( like the Government response following the first 10,000 signatures).

With that explanation in a national newspaper there could be a lot more signatures too, and more letters to MPs. Friends who look blank or reluctant when the petition is mentioned may well feel differently having read that article.

Villagetoraiseachild · Today 14:23
Thanking you Baroness Sarah Ludford
Yes, thank you.

(Her support is mentioned here as well as in the Times:
twitter.com/MForstater/status/1634319757787779072?s=19)

To sign the petition
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/623243

Following this, here is a template or guide letter to write to your MP. ( If possible use your own words.)
sex-matters.org/take-action/write-to-your-mp-about-the-petition/

A few of the comments under the Times article note that it is only in the Scottish edition of the paper which is a real shame. Some of the comments are wondering why the paper is hiding it away when its relevant to the whole UK.

FigRollsAlly · Today 22:36
+A few of the comments under the Times article note that it is only in the Scottish edition of the paper which is a real shame. Some of the comments are wondering why the paper is hiding it away when its relevant to the whole UK.*

That is a shame. It is a blow. Why would they do that when the 100,000 signatures actually come from the whole of the U.K.?

Did the Daily Mail report it?

The Daily Mail reported it.

JK Rowling-backed petition for Government to change Equality Act may be debated in Parliament

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11845511/JK-Rowling-backed-petition-Government-change-Equality-Act-debated-Parliament.html
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11845511/amp/JK-Rowling-backed-petition-Government-change-Equality-Act-debated-Parliament.html

Thanks for checking out the Mail ScrollingLeaves, That’s good to know.

No it's not.
MPs are mostly just more obedient pawns at the service of their party's masters, but at least you'll make them aware what real real people really think.

FigRollsAlly · Today 00:16
Thanks for checking out the Mail ScrollingLeaves, That’s good to know.

It is frustrating that the Times’s decision not to publish this outside Scotland means the DM is the newspaper to be relied on.
Lots of people pride themselves on never looking at it.

ScrollingLeaves · Today 08:06
to FigRollsAlly · Today 00:16

It’s a pleasure.

105,000 signatures!

If you haven't signed yet please do. The more signatures we have the better!!

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/623243

Then let your MP know you've signed by clicking on the link below

sex-matters.org/take-action/write-to-your-mp-about-the-petition/

106,000 signatures

if you haven't already you've still got time to sign. Go to 👇

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/623243

And then click on 👇

sex-matters.org/take-action/write-to-your-mp-about-the-petition/

To inform your MP that you've signed the petition.

The petition/new no 3 thread to update the Equality Act Petitions thread is now not appearing on Active.

We’ll have to make a new one even if that isn’t full. It is just a waste of time otherwise.

Link to that thread:
www.mumsnet.com/talk/petitions_noticeboard/4758082-petition-to-update-the-equality-act-thread-3

To write to your MP to let them know you have signed
sex-matters.org/take-action/write-to-your-mp-about-the-petition/

I emailed my MP on the 9th March. No response as yet. Has anyone received a response from their MP?

I'm guessing that they are mostly all waiting for whatever their party line is/what they are told to respond with.

Nope. But my useless SNP MP routinely ignores all comms.

No response yet

No response here either.

Hello - I emailed my MP, Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour), and did receive a response. I've had to read a few times as not sure how she squares support for Self ID and disagreeing that this may be to the detriment of the rights of women and girls - le sigh.

"Thank you for contacting me regarding this important issue.

In 2019, the Labour Party ran on a Manifesto that included a commitment to reform the Gender Recognition Act to introduce self-declaration for transgender and non-binary people. We promised to deliver on the national LGBTQ+ Action Plan introduced last year and eliminate remaining areas of discrimination in law, ensuring that LGBTQ+ people can live in safety and dignity.

I stand by those promises and am committed to reforming the Gender Recognition Act as well as the Equality Act 2010 to ensure they protect trans people.

I am also a proud feminist; I believe in the protection of women's spaces and will always stand up for the protection of these. However, I do not believe that legislating for the protection of the transgender community comes at a detriment to these. There is a need to listen to the various parts of the community on these matters and I will continue to take the different points of view on board.

I understand that a parliamentary petition to “Update the Equality Act to make clear the characteristic “sex” is biological sex” has now received 100,000. This means that it is eligible to be considered for a debate in Parliament and the Petitions Committee will select a date for this debate to take place.

Thank you once again for contacting me about this important issue. If you would like to learn more about the work I do in Parliament, please feel free to visit www.bellribeiroaddy.com."

Hmm, the ubiquitous use of "spaces" that Starmer also uses and that was criticised by LWD.

I am also a proud feminist; I believe in the protection of women's spaces and will always stand up for the protection of these. However, I do not believe that legislating for the protection of the transgender community comes at a detriment to these. There is a need to listen to the various parts of the community on these matters and I will continue to take the different points of view on board.

They have not kept abreast of the law and it’s details.

Its details.

Positive response from my youngish Tory MP.
It wasn't a surprise though as he has shown a good understanding of previous issues.
I did send my own personalised email and I suspect that it received more attention.

No response from my MP but not really expecting one as she is TWAW on steroids.

No response from my personalised email (sex matters' template) to my MP who is on the Petitions' Committee.

I heard a good quote the other day about how culture subsumes strategy.
It was more elegantly said than this.

So I am still hopeful that the culture of women and the culture of people of sound sense will subsume the neo marxist/ Denton influenced strategies of transgender ideologists, their handmaidens and all those exploiting them for profit.

Am watching what is going on in Ireland via a thread on here.

Leo Varadkar, the Taoiseach, looks like he has got the wind up post Isla/Nicola and has come straight out and said that men should not be in womens's prisons, (when confronted by a journalist) and fluffed around implying he had not known (!?) that Barbie K is in Limerick prison.

What I'm trying to say is that hopefully some momentum is building because more people are waking up and politicians are copping on to this fact.

Spoke too soon, as I have literally just received an email stressing the SNP support for GRA and also single sex exceptions when proportionate. Have just replied asking whether she will ask Committee to consider a debate, as this question not answered, and given their commitment to single sex exceptions surely they should be pushing to clariify the definition of sex.

My MP Ellie Reeves (Labour) has responded to me.

_Thank you for contacting me about definitions within the Equality Act.

As you highlight, a petition relating to sex within the Equality Act has reached over 100,000 signatures and will now be considered for a debate.

It is clear that both sex and gender play an important role in different areas of policy. Both are important in different contexts and this is reflected in legislation.

I am proud of the Equality Act 2010, which has strengthened people’s protections from disadvantage and discrimination. The Equality Act protects people with the protected characteristic of gender reassignment, with or without a Gender Recognition Certificate, from discrimination, victimisation or harassment. The law rightly assumes the inclusion of trans women except in specific circumstances where exclusion is a proportionate means to achieving a legitimate aim. I support that principle and want to see it applied appropriately in line with the law.

I assure you that I will continue to stand by the Equality Act and will oppose any attempts by the Government to weaken its protections for people with protected characteristics.

I believe greater progress and equality comes from bringing people together and treating each other with respect. I am proud of the work done by my colleagues both past and present that has taken Britain forward, such as better maternity and paternity leave, same-sex civil partnerships, and the minimum wage which benefitted mainly women workers. I would like to build on that progress by addressing today’s challenges, making hatred against women a hate crime, acting on the gender pay gap and maternity discrimination and tackling racism at source with a new Race Equality Act.

Thank you once again for contacting me about this issue.

Best Wishes,

Ellie_

She has also just done an abysmal interview calling Isla Bryson “she”, so I am beyond disappointed. https://mobile.twitter.com/TalkTV/status/1638829266291793921?s=20