Gender recognition reform bill passes Scottish Parliament at 1st stage

The controversial gender recognition reform bill has passed at stage one in the Scottish Parliament.

It had 88 votes for, 33 against and had four abstentions.

Earlier MSP Ash Regan resigned from her post as Community Safety Minister, saying My conscience will not allow me to vote with the government".

She, along with several other SNP MSPs voted against the bill, defying the whip - Fergus Ewing, John Mason, Stephanie Callaghan, Michelle Thomson, Kenneth Gibson and Ruth Maguire all also voted against it.

MSPs debated the general principles of a Bill which will make it easier for transgender people to be legally recognised as their preferred gender.

The Bill aims to speed up the time it takes to obtain a gender recognition certificate (GRC), and also lowers the age for obtaining one from 18 to 16.

Groups representing women and girls have raised concerns over safety if the Bill is passed in its current form, but proponents - including Scottish Government ministers - have rejected the claims.

Speaking in Thursday's debate on the Bill, Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison said: "We know from extensive consultation, as well as from evidence heard by the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, that many trans people find the current system overly medicalised, complex, intrusive and invasive.

"These barriers are currently preventing many trans people from applying for a GRC. This Bill will make the process simpler, more streamlined, and more respectful of the privacy and dignity of trans men and women."

She added: "As a Parliament, we have a responsibility to protect and support minority groups."

Ms Robison also announced the government's intention to bring an amendment at stage two that would seek to speed up the process for anyone diagnosed with a terminal illness.

But Scottish Tory MSP Rachael Hamilton - a member of the committee and one of the key voices in Holyrood against the Bill - said the rights of trans people could be improved but there was a requirement to protect "vulnerable young girls and the hard-won rights of women and girls".

Ms Hamilton went on to say that "legitimate concerns" around the Bill were being ignored.

"The Bill received one of the highest volumes of written evidence in the history of the Scottish Parliament - we've heard 11,000 submissions - and much of those contributions were overlooked in the (committee) report," she said.

Ms Hamilton went on to say there could be a balance struck in reducing the length of time trans people have to wait to get a GRC while also leaving some safeguards in place.

"There is room to make the process easier without tearing it to pieces," she told MSPs.

Scottish Labour MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy said the current process for obtaining a GRC is "dehumanising, intrusive, offensive, expensive and lengthy and needs to change".

"(Labour) have always been at the forefront of equality and human rights and we always will defend and protect them," she said.

Ms Duncan-Glancy added that the process proposed in the Bill "is not just long overdue or compliant with international best practice, it is essential for a society that believes in equality and human rights and it is the right thing to do".

Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said the Bill's process had been a "long and painful road", adding: "At its core, this legislation is about human rights, it's about respecting the dignity and the autonomy of transgender people who have been waiting far too long for these reforms."

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