Please find my comment on Parliament passing the Gender Recognition Reform Bill below.
MSP for Central Scotland, Graham Simpson said: “Many residents in Lanarkshire will be dismayed that this flawed and potentially dangerous bill has been passed by a majority of SNP and Labour MSPs.
“I will always support improving the experience for trans people but that should never come at the expense of the safety of women and girls. However, this bill – in the form that it has been passed – does just that.
“Residents will be rightly astonished that various sensible amendments to the bill, including preventing convicted sex offenders from applying for a Gender Recognition Certificate, were rejected by members.
“I personally was disappointed my own amendments, which would have made it a requirement for applicants to provide evidence that they had been living in an acquired gender, were rejected.
“Similarly, it was a real shame that the SNP and Labour, unlike the Scottish Conservatives, made this a whipped vote in an effort to steamroll this bill through Parliament and silence those in their ranks opposed to it”.
