Renowned novelist J.K. Rowling, known for authoring the “Harry Potter” series, has stepped into controversy once again, this time opposing transgender legislation in Scotland.
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The law “will harm the most vulnerable women in society: those seeking help after male violence/rape and incarcerated women,” tweeted Rowling. “Statistics show that imprisoned women are already far more likely to have been previously abused.”
The writer is condemning the Gender Recognition Reform Bill, introduced by the First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon. If approved, the legislation would, among other things, lower the age at which a person call legally change his or her sexual identity from 18 to 16 years old.
Additionally, the bill makes it easier for individuals to transition legally, Variety reported. Currently, applicants for “gender recognition certificates” must be older than 18 years and are obligated to undergo medical diagnoses indicating they have gender dysphoria over a two-year process.
Under Sturgeon’s proposal, applicants would be required to live as their preferred sexual identity for just three months before petitioning for a “gender recognition certificate,” which would then be granted after another three month “reflection period.” Furthermore, the bill eliminates any requirement for medical evidence of gender dysphoria.
Applicants would have to swear they intend to live under their transitioned sexual identity for the remainder of their lives. Any false claims, the outlet reported, would be punishable by up to two years in prison.
Rowling, for her part, followed up her initial tweet with an additional criticism.
“Multiple women’s groups have presented well-sourced evidence to Nicola Sturgeon’s government about the likely negative consequences of this legislation for women and girls, especially the most vulnerable,” she wrote. “All has been ignored. If this legislation is passed, and those consequences ensue as a result, the [Scottish National Party government] can’t pretend it wasn’t warned.”
Anything else?
Rowling, who has been outspoken in her defense of biological women, called out British politician Anneliese Dodds for her inability to define the word “woman” on International Women’s Day, according to Metro.
Appearing on BBC’s Woman’s Hour Tuesday, Dodds was asked by the host to offer the Labour Party’s “definition of a woman.” In response, the member of Parliament said:
Well, I have to say that there are different definitions legally around what a woman actually is. I mean, you look at the definition within the Equality Act, and I think it just says someone who is adult and female, I think, but then doesn’t see how you define either of those things. I mean, obviously, that’s then you’ve got the biological definition, legal definition.
The BBC host, Emma Barnett, pushed back, asking Dodds for a clear definition. The politician responded:
Oh, I think — with respect, Emma — I think it does depend what the context is, surely. I mean surely that is important here.
You know, there are people who have decided that they have to make that transition. You know, I’ve spoken with many of them. It’s been a very difficult process for many of those people. And you know, understandably, because they live as a woman, you know, they want to be defined as a woman.
So when Dodds posted a tweet Tuesday afternoon commemorating International Women’s Day, Rowling called her out, asking the lawmaker how she can celebrate such a holiday when she “can’t define what a woman is.”
The “Harry Potter” novelist faced some push back for her tweet.
One Twitter user asked Rowling, “You really want your legacy to die on this hill?”
In response, the famed author wrote, “Yes, sweetheart. I’m staying right here on this hill, defending the right of women and girls to talk about themselves, their bodies and their lives in any way they [expletive] well please. You worry about your legacy, I’ll worry about mine.”
Faithwire has reported extensively on Rowling’s criticisms of the left’s transgender agenda.
In mid-December, she condemned proposed laws in Scotland that would reportedly result in police officers recording sexual assaults and rapes by biological males as perpetrated by females if the assailants identify as women.
Rowling rebuffed the proposed laws and noted just how twisted our culture has become.
“War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength,” she tweeted at the time, linking to a Times of London article about the legislative proposals. “The Penised Individual Who Raped You Is a Woman.”
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