Great Britain has stepped in and blocked a new Scottish law making it easier for people to change their genders..Secretary of State for Scotland Alister Jack said he will be making an order under Section 35 of the Scotland Act to prevent the area’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill from proceeding to royal assent. .“After thorough and careful consideration of all the relevant advice and the policy implications, I am concerned that this legislation would have an adverse impact on the operation of Great Britain-wide equalities legislation,” said Jack in a Monday statement. .The Scottish government approved plans to make it easier and less intrusive for people to legally change their gender, extending the new system of self-identification to 16- and 17-year-olds for the first time, on December 22. .The bill was passed by members of the Scottish Parliament in a special extended session six years after it was proposed by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, after two of the largest public consultations in Scotland’s history, and amid an increasingly toxic, polarized political discourse. .As a mark of the escalating tensions surrounding the changes, the debate was disrupted minutes before the final vote by protesters in the public gallery shouting "Shame on you" and "This is the darkest day.".Jack said transgender people who are going through gender transitions deserve respect, support, and understanding. He said his decision is about “the legislation’s consequences for the operation of GB-wide equalities protections and other reserved matters.”.The Scotland secretary of state went on to say he has not taken this decision lightly. He added the bill would have “a significant impact on, amongst other things, GB-wide equalities matters in Scotland, England, and Wales.”.“I have concluded, therefore, that this is the necessary and correct course of action,” he said. .“If the Scottish Government chooses to bring an amended Bill back for reconsideration in the Scottish Parliament, I hope we can work together to find a constructive way forward that both respects devolution and the operation of UK Parliament legislation.”
