Shame on you, Nicola Sturgeon

First Minister heckles Tory Murdo Fraser for attending For Women Scotland's rally

I had not intended posting today, but Nicola Sturgeon’s performance yesterday in the Scottish Parliament where she heckled Tory Murdo Fraser for daring to mention the @ForWomenScot’s rally last week, changed my mind.

Sturgeon describes herself as ‘feminist to her fingertips’ yet she screams ‘shame on you’ when a politician talks about women’s rights. Take a minute to watch this clip. And note Tess White on the right of Murdo Fraser. Only last week she was forced to apologise to the First Minister for heckling her.

This is Scotland in 2021. Surreal.

For Women Scotland @ForwomenScot

This was the moment @murdo_fraser said he had attended the FWS demo last week and the @ScotGovFM showed contempt of the women who gathered by shouting "shame on you". As an aside, @TessWhite4NE expression is wonderful. #WomenWontWheesht

The last draft of the Gender Recognition Reform Bill

While the Scottish government has not yet confirmed whether Self ID will be the main focus of its new bill, it is worth reminding ourselves of the provisions of the last draft bill, published in 2019, and put on ice before the 2021 Scottish Parliament elections.

The 2019 proposals are clearly designed to introduce Self ID:

• The removal of current medical requirements when applicants are seeking legal gender recognition;

• The removal of the need to apply to the GRP. Instead, applicants would apply to the Registrar General for Scotland (“the Registrar General”) who already has a number of existing functions under the GRA;[29]

• Applicants must either (a) have been born or adopted[30] in Scotland or (b) be ordinarily resident in Scotland;

• Applicants must have lived in their acquired gender for a minimum of 3 months (rather than the current 2 years) before submitting an application for gender recognition;

• After an application has been accepted by the Registrar General, the applicant would have to confirm after a reflection period of 3 months that they wish to proceed;

• Applicants would have to confirm that they intend to live permanently in their acquired gender;

• Applicants would still be required to submit statutory declarations, made in front of a notary public or a justice of the peace; and

• It will be a criminal offence to make a false statutory declaration in relation to gender recognition and to make a false application for gender recognition.