04/02/2023
Shona Robison, the Scottish National Party’s Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice in Scotland, has little doubt that the Westminster Government is trying to leverage moral panics about transgender people’s access to public space as a means to reign in and discipline a country that has never elected a majority of Conservative MSPs. She addresses all sides of the debate at Holyrood in the “Guardian” newspaper when she says “The UK government’s approach should worry anyone who supports Scotland’s right to make decisions on devolved matters, regardless of their opinions about these reforms. This veto (on the Gender Recognition Act), with its flimsy reasoning, puts us on a slippery slope. Devolution was secured nearly a quarter of a century ago with the overwhelming support of the people of Scotland. It made the Scottish parliament, elected by and responsible to the people of Scotland, responsible for making laws on a range of matters.” Ms Robison also puts the small minority of separatist feminists who oppose the reforms in their place, noting “The bill passed by the Scottish parliament improves and simplifies the process of applying for a gender recognition certificate (GRC) for trans people. It doesn’t change the effect of having a certificate. GRCs matter to trans people because they allow them to change their birth certificate and be properly recognised in their gender if they get married and when they die. They are helpful but not necessary when applying for a driving licence or passport. That’s what a GRC is for, and nothing in our legislation changes the Equality Act or the rules on access to single-sex spaces and services.”
