The Scottish Government has come under fire from gay activists for its controversial proposals to enable people to ‘change sex’ by self-identification.
LGB Alliance Scotland called for the withdrawal of the Government’s draft Bill, saying it would unleash a “gender free-for-all”.
The Roman Catholic Church has also said that the proposal to reduce the minimum age from 18 to 16 is a “troubling development”.
Danger
The Bill would allow self-declaration of gender, requiring an individual to live as if the opposite sex for just three months before applying for legal recognition of their assumed gender.
There would then be a three-month “reflection period” after which applicants are given a Gender Recognition Certificate and a new birth certificate.
…gender cannot be reduced to a mere construct of society that is fluid and changeable
LGB Alliance Scotland said “there would be nothing to stop” a man legally changing sex and gaining access to female-only changing rooms and hospital wards.
Pressure
The group launched its Scottish branch with a campaign to stop the Bill, including plans for a petition and marches.
The nightclub which hosted the launch subsequently apologised following intense pressure from transgender activists.
The same night, a woman wearing an LGB Alliance T-shirt was removed from an LGBT bar for being “anti-transgender”.
Co-founder of the group, Bev Jackson, said: “LGB Alliance is shocked by the behaviour of a gay club throwing a young woman out for merely wearing a T-shirt with our logo”.
Free speech
Addressing the Scottish Government’s proposals the Roman Catholic Church stated that it is “steadfast in its conviction that gender cannot be reduced to a mere construct of society that is fluid and changeable”.
A spokesperson added that the right to disagree with the self-identification of gender must be respected.
“It is imperative that government encourages and society allows for an open, honest and informed debate”, they added.
