The Scottish Sun also reports on The Great Controversial Stickers Controversy.
POLICE Scotland faced anger and ridicule after a clampdown on stickers from a feminist group opposed to the relaxation of gender self-ID laws.
The national force was accused of a “chilling” attack on free speech after announcing it was probing the matter as a “hate” crime.
Officers in Kirkcaldy also urged members of the public to contact them or Fife Council if locals saw any more “controversial stickers”.
Without specifying the nature of the controversy.
The move came after cops were alerted to “Women won’t wheesht” stickers that had been placed on lampposts in Kirkcaldy, promoting activists For Women Scotland.
…
Following the backlash, Police Scotland deleted the tweet with a senior sources saying it was “poorly worded”.
Well it was, because of the failure to describe the stickers beyond the one word “controversial” while asking the public to report them all the same. It would have tied up all the phones and computers for years.
Police also denied its move was connected to the SNP’s new Hate Crime and Public Order Act – which became law last month.
The force said it had not yet been given new powers under the legislation, which sparked concerns about freedom of speech during its passage through Holyrood.
Great, so they’re going to be even worse.
SNP MP and feminist campaigner Joanna Cherry QC suggested the apparent clampdown on a women’s group could mean police risk unlawfully victimising women or people who believe that the gender self-ID push is wrong.
She said: “The onus is on Kirkcaldy police to explain why they were concerning themselves with stickers which they deemed controversial as opposed to criminal.
“The deletion of their tweet would indicate that they now accept this was not an appropriate use of police time.
“The police should be mindful that as a public authority they are bound by the Public Sector Equality Duty to foster good relations between all the protected characteristics under the Equality Act and not to discriminate, harass or victimise any person or group because of their protected characteristic.
“The protected characteristics include sex, sexual orientation and belief as well as gender reassignment.”
Got that???
Comments
15 responses to “After a clampdown on stickers”
The police we see this as freeing up more officers to go after Marion Millar.
On that topic, there’s talk on Twitter of a protest outside the police station. It’s a difficult journey for me and the first longish journey I’ll have been on since being in the chair, but if I can work out a practical way of being there, I think I will.
Further to that, I’m planning to go unless anything changes.
Marion is due to be at the police station at 15:30. It’s Cathcart police station, Glasgow.
If anyone here plans to be there too, let me know!
I wonder what that means?
I have blue eyes, your eyes are brown. What relations might exist between these characteristics, and how do you tell if those relations are good or not? There will be a difference in the spectrum of reflected light from our irises, I suppose, but is that difference good? If so, why? And why is that a matter for the police?
OMG, s*x is now a protected characteristic?!
Yes and no; it depends.
Yes. Under the UK Equality Act 2010, yes. I believe this is the law which Stonewall has been systematically misrepresenting for years in its training
schemescam. It permits legal exemptions for single sex spaces and services, which is one of the things Stonewall has been lying about.No. Sex is NOT a protected characteristic under Scotland’s recently passed hate law.
“The protected characteristics include sex, sexual orientation and belief as well as gender reassignment.”
As far as I am concerned, that does not go nearly far enough. What about me? I am species-reassigned, and have transitioned to being a giraffe. (But only on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.)
This whole thing needs to be gone through again, on a far more thorough basis. Those cops need to get their act together, stop wasting time chasing crooks, and get their priorities right.
Re “good relations between all the protected characteristics”, I wonder if this strange wording is similar to the tendency to use the word “minority” for “member of an ethnic or racial minority group”. The strange phrase could mean good relations between people who have these characteristics, or perhaps between those people and the police.
One of the insights (for me) of the book “Cynical Theories” was how postmodernism turns individuals into an intersection of categories, and this apparent reference to people as “categories” instead of “people who belong to categories” seems consistent with that.
latsot, when visiting the UK in the past, I have spent many happy journeys on English public transport in a wheelchair or on a tiny mobility scooter. Generally, bus and train drivers/staff have been only too happy to help. Only one incident with one Jobsworth was less than satisfactory, but we sorted that out and I travelled anyway in spite of him. I don’t know about Scotland, not having visited since being in a wheelchair myself.
I should have added that the London Underground is a mix of excellent stations and completely inaccessible ones, so that should be taken into account when planning any journey to or around the capital. Busses, however, are excellent.
Thanks tigger, I’m not really worried. The local train might be an issue, but once I get to the East Coast Main Line there are helpful people with ramps. Then it’s just a very nice trip up the coast and, I think, a taxi at the end; Glasgow is kind of hilly. I’m sure there are lots of practical details I haven’t thought of, but I expect I’ll find out what they are soon enough.
You’re very welcome, latsot. I only wish that I could join you; but travel outside the country (except to the North, ironically) isn’t possible at the moment. I’ll be with you in spirit, though. So if you see a ghostly Tigger bouncing alongside, it’s me. ;-)
Same here.
Marion’s interview with the police has been postponed for an indefinite time because their custody suite isn’t available on that day. This is awful and surely very stressful for Marion, especially given the barely-veiled threat the police have already made to send social workers to look after her autistic children. Who knows what will happen to those children if she can’t arrange care for them on any future date the police might choose for the interview? Who knows whether the police will turn up at her door unannounced and cart her (and possibly her children) off?
My guess is that the police realise that they’ve screwed up very badly and want to quietly let the matter drop. If so, they’ve chosen to do this in the most cruel way possible, which certainly fits with their behaviour so far. This is pure speculation on my part, though.
This means I’m not going to Glasgow tomorrow after all. Work and sufficient notice permitting, I’ll try to be there if she is eventually hauled in.
We can still support Marion by following her plight on Twitter (@millar_marion) and wishing her Happy Birthday tomorrow (27th May).