LGBTQ+ rights in the United Kingdom

Pretty much.

They had allegedly created a shortlist of five kids/teenagers they hoped to murder. It sounds as if they weren't solely focused on transphobia, but the evidence mentioned above still makes it clear it was a factor in Breanna's case.

I guess that kind of negates the trans-panic defense. Is that still allowed in the UK?

Not since 2002, when prosecution guidelines discredited the "Portsmouth defence".

More specifically, the guidance given by the Crown Prosecution Service of England and Wales states:

LGBTQ+ asylum seekers are being forced to share rooms with people they've never met. As a cost-saving measure, of course.

There's a trans man quoted in the article who tells a horrible story about this.

The issue goes beyond LGBTQ+ safety - there are also examples of age-disputed children forced to share with adults - but that's the focus of this article.

And more bad news.

After the UK government is challenged on its promise to outlaw conversion therapy, Kemi Badenoch (minister for women and equality) states that gender-affirming care for children can be considered conversion therapy.

This does not strike me as a good faith argument.

thats not an argument thats illogical nonsense,its like they're begrudgingly outlawing the practice

As with other recent decisions, I suspect it's one last stand in the culture wars before the next election. All about the headlines to rally the right rather than facts.

News from the Court of Session (already posted in the British Politics thread): Lady Haldane rules that the Secretary of State acted lawfully in blocking the Scottish Parliament's Gender Recognition Reform Bill from receiving Royal Assent.[1]

Seems to be a busy news day. Not much of it is good.

• The Scottish government will not try to appeal the Westminster gender recognition reform bill veto (mentioned in the previous post).
• Trans teen Brianna Ghey's murderers were found guilty.
• Transphobia was ruled out as the main motive for Brianna Ghey's murder after evidence revealed the killers had a list of classmates they wanted to kill. Most were cis and Brianna wasn't their first choice, although they were evidently transphobic as well.
• Leaked legal guidance reveals that schools could face legal action under equality legislation if the follow new government guidance for students who are socially transitioning.
• ...and Badenoch, the minister for equality, goes a step further by saying "Teaching children that you can be born in the ‘wrong’ body is harmful".

Every time the government tries to conjure a new transphobic law from whatever septic tank they grow their pet bigots in, experts say it might unenforceable, or outright illegal...and yet, they keep trying to push them.

Why!?

because even if their efforts fail they're hoping they're one day they'll succeed

It's also a lot of "oh god, we're fucking awful at actually running anything and the entire country is disintegrating under our watch, uh, uh, uh, ATTACK THE ACCEPTABLE TARGETS OF BIGOTRY TO DISTRACT THE PEOPLE!"

If trans people weren't a talking point, it'd be all Travelers all the time or something else similar.

At least some flare-ups of it seem to start after absolute PR disasters like that one guy who put out a list of how to "save money" and it was all like "save 5 pence a year by not showering at home".

Re: Mrph 1's updates- The determination that Brianna Ghey's murder was not a hate crime is frustrating. The fact there were cis people on a kill list does not matter. What matters is *why Brianna's* name was on it.

This is one of the really ugly parts of this kind of legislation. People's and institutions' obligations are literally unknowable because they're going to be used as the battlegrounds for court cases. Are the schools obligated to help with and recognize transitions? Are they obligated not to? There are active laws and lawyers on both sides, and inability to prognosticate the ruling is no defense.

I suspect they're trying to fight the culture war over trans rights in the hope that they can get Labour to take an opposing position and then use that to portray them as dangerous lefties in the press.

It's a tactic that worked against Corbyn, but doesn't seem to draw out Starmer. And I suspect the Scottish situation is at least partly a reluctance to give the Tories a distraction in the courts when the SNP can just talk to Starmer after they're voted out.

A similar tactic as US Republicans tried in 2022, that mostly didn't pay off e.g in Michigan. Is the similarity a coincidence?

Yeah Starmer was responding to press questions on trans issues with “You’re asking a maliciously worded question to trick me into a culture war fight so as to distract from the harm the Conservatives have done to the entire country” back when he was running for Labour leader. It’s a tactic the press haven’t given up on.

There was rumours that the same thinktanks were briefing the Tories.

I don't have the news article to hand, though.

Edited by Bisected8 on Dec 20th 2023 at 9:49:40 AM

"Septic thinktanks" is a good turn of phrase, thank you.

Why did you have to edit that out? "Septic thinktanks" was a perfect description!

I didn't edit that out, the edit was to add the second line.

The septic tank part comes from my previous post.

...or maybe I did say "septic thinktank" and remove that. I wasn't entirely paying attention while I posted.

It was between your two posts combined but I'm giving you credit anyway.

Aye, I have heard the thing about the same interest groups trying to influence UK and US politics. It's been always my opinion that "consultants" are almost always not worth the money they charge. Seems like "advisory thinktanks" have the same tendency.

The USA Republicans do the exact same thing. They and the Tories have nothing to offer people except bigotry and tax cuts for the rich.