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January 17, 2023

"Unconscionable and Indefensible": U.K. Government Vetoes Scottish Gender Equality Bill
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In Britain, the government of Conservative U.K. Prime Minister Rishi
Sunak has vetoed a bill passed by Scotland's Parliament that would have
made it easier for people to change their legal gender. The legislation
was approved by Scottish lawmakers last month. It would make it simpler
and faster for transgender people to obtain legal documents establishing
their gender, would end the need for a medical diagnosis of "gender
dysphoria" and would extend those rights to teenagers as young as 16.
It's the first time since the Scottish Parliament was established in
1999 that the U.K. government has used its veto power to block a
Scottish law from taking effect. On Monday, Scotland's First Minister
Nicola Sturgeon condemned the veto as a "full-frontal attack" on the
Scottish Parliament.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon: "In my view, it will be, quite simply, a
political decision, and I think it will be using trans people, already
one of the most vulnerable, stigmatized groups in our society, as a
political weapon. And I think that will be unconscionable and
indefensible and really quite disgraceful."



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