The Harry Potter author described several transgender women as men in a series of social media posts.

JK Rowling has challenged Scotland’s new hate crime law in a series of social media posts - inviting police to arrest her if they believe she has committed an offence.

The Harry Potter author, who lives in Edinburgh, described several transgender women as men, including convicted prisoners, trans activists and other public figures.

She said “freedom of speech and belief” was at an end if accurate description of biological sex was outlawed.

Earlier, Scotland’s first minister Humza Yousaf said the new law would deal with a “rising tide of hatred”.

The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 creates a new crime of “stirring up hatred” relating to age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or being intersex.

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Ms Rowling, who has long been a critic of some trans activism, posted on X on the day the new legislation came into force.

  • bostonbananarama@lemmy.world
    36·
    8 months ago

    Arguments about free speech are just a way to ignore the issue and do nothing as transphobia continues to thrive and spread.

    No, arguments about free speech recognize that there is no more important right that a free society can have. If a group can dictate that the language that they find distasteful is criminal, then so can any other group.

    Without protections for free speech, what happens when an authoritarian like Trump determines that support for trans people is actually misogyny, or that support for POC is racist against white people and then criminalizes that speech? These are arguments they already make.

    You’re talking about prior restraint which, at least in the US, has always been harshly scrutinized. As it should be. A line needs to be drawn, but promoting violence should be that line, not merely that which is distasteful.

      • bostonbananarama@lemmy.world
        41·
        8 months ago

        Ok keep defending hate speech, I think your a bigot and are a bad person.

        And I think you’re naive, and terrible at grammar (it’s “you’re” not “your”). Am I pro-murder too because I don’t like the death penalty either? I know that you have a tiny inept brain, but try to imagine that I could dislike something and not want to criminalize it.

        Oh look, they’re already following the obvious playbook. If you make speech criminal it’s not going to be used against the people you want it used against.

        https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/01/trump-stephen-miller-anti-white-racism-plan

        • Gnome Kat@lemmy.blahaj.zoneFulfulde
          11·
          8 months ago

          I deleted it like 2 seconds after I posted it because I was angry, but what ever quote it I guess.

          I am tired of people like you standing up for hate speech while I just have to stand by and watch my rights gets stripped. JKR is advocating hate and violence and you just sit there and defend it. Leave me alone you are not an ally of mine and you never will be.

          • bostonbananarama@lemmy.world
            2·
            8 months ago

            I’m sorry that I can advocate for free speech protections and believe that trans rights are human rights all at the same time and you can’t.

            It’s like the cases the ACLU would take on, defending the free speech rights of reprehensible people, because the only way they can be sure that they can say whatever they want, is to be sure that bigots can do the same. It’s the only way it works.

              • bostonbananarama@lemmy.world
                2·
                8 months ago

                You know what puts people in more danger, complete and utter stupidity. Please stop.

                Even if your opinion were true, what you are saying at its core, is that you are willing to trade everyone’s rights in the hope that it will bolster your rights.