JK Rowling Dares Scottish Police to Arrest Her over New 'Hate Crime' Law Threatening Free Speech

Calvin Freiburger : Apr 3, 2024
LifeSiteNews.com

"If what I've written here qualifies as an offence under the terms of the new act, I look forward to being arrested when I return to the birthplace of the Scottish Enlightenment." -Author J.K. Rowling

(United Kingdom) — [LifeSiteNews.com] Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling is striking a defiant tone in the face of a new Scottish law that many fear will effectively criminalize free speech on subjects such as biological sex and "gender identity." (Screengrab image: via Sky News)

The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act, passed in 2021 but only now taking effect, consolidates various preexisting "hate crime" statutes while also creating a new offense, "threatening or abusive behaviour which is intended to stir up hatred" on the basis of age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity, or variations in sex characteristics.

As covered by The Guardian and The Scotsman, various individuals and groups have raised objections to the law, including MP Joanna Cherry, who predicts it "will be weaponised by trans rights activists to try to silence, and worse still criminalise, women who do not share their beliefs"; said the Scottish Family Party, who says it will mean the "death" of free speech; and the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents and Scottish Police Federation, who fear it will overtax police forces inadequately trained to handle the influx of new offenses.

Scotland First Minister Humza Yousaf, who championed the law, insists that abuse will be prevented by a "very high threshold" for prosecuting cases and protects freedom of expression in a variety of ways, including a "reasonableness" defense. Ex-Tory MSP Adam Tomkins claims that simply "asserting that sex is a biological fact or that it is not changed just by virtue of the gender by which someone chooses to identify is not and never can be a hate crime under this legislation."

Such assurances hit a snag, however, when calls to prosecute Rowling under the law prompted Scotland's Community Safety Minister Siobhian Brown to walk back her initial assurances that "misgendering" would "not at all" violate the law, The Telegraph reported. "It could be reported and it could be investigated," she said, "whether or not the police would think it was criminal is up to Police Scotland for that"... Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

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