Sorry if this upsets Arabian_ian but....

I'm quite an immature person does this mean that this time next week I could be a raging pansexual?

 

The Scottish Parliament after 7 years of debate disagree with you despite your obvious expertise and experience of child psychology

 

Sarcasm huh? It is Stupid thing to say anyway. a) How many Scottish Paliamentarians have any expertise and experience of child psychology, and b) there are plenty of those who are opposed to it citing many of the concerns I have expressed.

I also note the same Scottish Parliament believes if they were to gain independence they can join the EU in a very short timeframe whilst keeping the pound so you will forgive me if I have some cynicism regarding their collective thought processes on this and other matters!!

As I said, you have your opinion and I have mine so I don't see why you needed to bring up 'child psychology and expertise' given I never claimed to have specialist knowledge, merely experience of having had a family and observations based on working with students and adults and at one time I was trained and certified to carry out psychological and physical assessments (not related to this topic) on people with disabilities suitability to drive.

 

They listened to 7 yrs of evidence, it got overwhelming cross party support and it wasn’t me giving the BBS a lecture in puberty and what people with disabilities ability to drive has got to do with anything is beyond me although you can be trusted to drive a potentially lethal object at 17 yrs

 

Hey Stephen, leave them pans alone.

 

I'd "like", but I hate this song.

 

Wasn't lecturing anyone just providing background and reasons why I have the opinion I have about this. As regards assessment of disabled drivers without going into great detail there is some relevance. In any case the example of a 17 year old driving is poor as it highlights an issue with the Scottish bill in that self certification and living as a person of the opposite gender for six months is deemed adequate. To drive a car requires more than self certification and theory and a practical test must be passed as well as supervision and instruction prior to that.
I am unclear why you are so hot under the collar regarding this proposed legislation. Apparently a majority of the public in Scotland are against this law. My only concern in the OP was whether it conflicted with UK law and that had yet to be determined. If it is decided that it does then one would have thought that during the 7 years it would have been brought up and discussed.

 

No problem Tekky we fundamentally disagree

 

Yes it's F*****g bonkers

 

I'm a raging pansexual, and that's why I'm not allowed within 500m of a Le Creuset shop

 

So the case against you was cast iron then.
Coit!

 

I've kept out of this thread because a) I know little about the bill and b) I didn't know why the UK Government were trying to block it.
I still don't know much about the bill except that it's about gender identity. However, I do now understand the Government's opposition. It is politically motivated and willfully anti-Scottish. The Holyrood parliament voted massively in favour of the bill, remember that the SNP do not have a majority and even the Scottish Tories supported it. Therefore there is no logical reason for the UK Government to oppose it. Sunak is playing politics with Scotland.
@arabian_ian this is only going to help the independence movement in the long term. Hope you'll still talk to us on here after Independence Day.

 

How on Earth can you claim to "understand the Govts opposition to the Bill" yet state you "still don't know much about the bill" and then claiming "Therefore there is no logical reason for the UK Government to oppose it"?

So you made a decision based on half the story. So nothing to do with the impact on women's rights in the rest of the UK then (with the potential for conflict with existing legislation) , the risk presented by allowing 16 year olds to self-certificate without any guidance or medical input and risk criminalising parents and teachers?

With respect, you seem to be allowing your political views to jump to the conclusion that everything is down to Sunak playing politics. You are also ignoring the fact that the The Scottish parliament voted this bill through AGAINST the majority view of the Scottish people...
From the Guardian: (The Scottish parliament passed the gender recognition reform bill on Thursday, which allows people to legally change their gender through self-identification. Holyrood hailed it a 'historic day for equality', but hecklers in the gallery could be heard shouting 'shame on you' as the session came to a close). I am pretty sure you (rightly) criticise the Tories for riding roughshod over the wishes of the people they represent but now argue that the Scottish Parliament's decision is correct just because they took 7 years to pass the Act.

 

In a democracy, you accept the decision of the elected government. No individual has the time or inclination to thoroughly read and understand every piece of legislation. This particularly applies to a democracy where the government is elected by proportional representation and is thus actually representative. Unlike the UK where 40% of the population can elect an unrepresentative government with a "mandate" to do whatever the eff they like. The fact that an overwhelming majority of that truly representative parliament backed this bill (including support from those normally opposed to such things like the Tories) is pretty compelling in my view. Personal support or opposition to a particular bill will always be there and in this case I sympathise with supporters and opponents of the bill but in the final analysis you have to trust the politicians and I mean those that matter in this case the Scottish ones and not the idiots in London.