Equalities Act parliamentary debate 12th June

[reverseferreting]

Email received this morning.

Parliament is going to debate the petition you signed – “Update the Equality Act to make clear the characteristic “sex” is biological sex”.

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/623243

The debate is scheduled for 12 June 2023.

Once the debate has happened, we’ll email you a video and transcript.

Thanks,
The Petitions team
UK Government and Parliament

You’re receiving this email because you signed this petition: “Update the Equality Act to make clear the characteristic “sex” is biological sex.

Yep, saw the email too. Great news that we have a date.

I wonder if the other "counter debate" will be done on the same day. I hope so, otherwise it's going to be very odd having the same debate again but from a different viewpoint.

On a related note, while I was looking around to understand more about it all, I came across the EHRC definition of the protected characteristic "gender reassignment" on the discrimination explainer pages.

It was updated in February 2023 but I still found it very odd and confusing. The terms "sex" and "gender" are used interchangeably in places e.g. in the embedded video.

EHRC definition of gender reassignment discrimination

🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

I got the email too and I updated the other thread on it.

Hope is one of the three great Spiritual Virtues, so I am exercising it.

Perhaps anyone who has not yet written to their MP about this might like to use this from Sex-Matters as guidance:
https://sex-matters.org/take-action/write-to-your-mp-about-the-petition/

Write to everyone!

https://www.writetothem.com/

I wonder whether it will be a full house, or just the same few invested bods on either bench.

Thanks, I got the email too.

Sorry if this is a dumb question but I'm unclear now how this ties in with the EHRC advice to the government a couple of weeks ago?

The Equality Act refers to 9 protected characteristics, including sex and gender reassignment. When I looked at what the government definition of those were, I was pointed towards the EHRC definitions.

So it's more of an indirect link, albeit an important one as far as I can see. Definitely happy to be corrected on that though as there are many people on here who know more on this stuff than me!

Considering the EHRC had recently made a clarification statement on sex and gender, I was surprised to see it so muddled when they describe the protected characteristics.

Yes, both petitions have been given the same debate date, so I expect it will be one debate examining the issue from different sides.

I think I’ll write to my MP again. I’ve written a few times in the past, mainly about the NHS, but once about women’s rights. The latter issue was the only one my MP actually responded to.

Perfect. Anything else would have been bonkers.

I wrote to my MP using the helpful email template that was provided (I added a few bits of my own too) and got a very wishy washy template-style reply saying that no changes were needed. That was before the EHRC clarification was announced so I'll write back and ask if he's reconsidered his views since then 🤞

@ScrollingLeaves thanks for the reminder and link.

Skyellaskerry · Today 12:27*
It’s a pleasure. Let’s hope this debate will help.

Here is the EHRC letter anyone might like to alert their MP to - is this it @BonfireLady · Today 12:23?
as what you said seems a good idea.

https://t.co/hJpX9Ug7AU

That isn’t the whole letter.
Please would someone link it if you can.

Is it the email template I mentioned that you're looking for? It's on another thread but I can dig it out. It was very well put together and easy to use.

.. it even has the email address of your MP. You just select your constituency.

I was thinking of the whole EHRC letter to K. Badenoch explaining why the EA should be amended to make clear ‘sex’ is biological. I am sure lots of MPs know nothing about the issue and are more likely to listen to (believe) the EHRC than a constituent.

The other Sex Matters template letter is good too and I posted the link previously on this thread. Arabella posted the one that finds all the people to write to called “WriteToThem”.

Yes, I still need to write to my MP. I've been far too lazy about it but I can work with a template 😁

So much for #nodebate

Ah yes, of course. Sorry, I misunderstood.

The clarification letter that she wrote is available as a download on the link that you added above. If you scroll down, it's just below the grey box that has the excerpt 👍

The counter petition is on the same day, is still open to be signed, and already has more signatories.

Excellent.

I've been wanting to write to my MP (Jeremy Hunt) about the evils of gender ideology for a while but didn't want to sound like a monomaniacal lunatic. This is an ideal topic to write to him about.

I meant to add that as others have said writing to MPs to attend and support amending the EA is going to be really important.

I suspect to many MPs will not want to be seen to have an opinion and will just say looks like the majority of voters dont want the EA changed.

I never know whether this bigger public support is because trans networks are so well resourced they get more people to sign etc., or whether it reflects public opinion.

Suspect most members of the public wont really be clear or that interested as to what this is all about.

Yep, loads more.
But it's an incredible step forward that debate is being called for.
I can't imagine the Houses of Parliament accepting statements that shut down debate. When Lloyd Russell tried it against Miriam Cates he ended up looking rather ridiculous.
Yes, let's see a proper debate! 👏👏

The wording on the counter debate petition is quite interesting. I read it as "please don't change anything as we can currently identify in to any spaces etc that we like and it would be discrimination to change this".

It looks quite strange when you read it next to the EHRC clarification that was sent after a) both petitions were started and b) both petitions had an interim response.

When you put it all together, the chronology is pretty interesting.Counter debate