Scotland’s chief minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has warned the UK central government of the risk of using the law facilitating gender self-determination as a «political weapon», warning that any possible veto from London would be an «atrocity».
The Scottish Parliament gave the green light to the law in December, by a wide margin although not without controversy, both within and outside the strictly political sphere.
The reform reduces to 16 the age at which a change of gender can be requested from the administration, eliminates the requirement to present a medical report and reduces to three months the time in which the applicant must have lived according to the gender he or she claims — six months if he or she is a minor.
London has the ability to veto the bill, in an unprecedented move that, if carried out, would be this week. «No decision has been taken so far,» said the Downing Street spokesman, who put the ball in the court of the minister responsible for Scottish affairs, according to the BBC.
However, Sturgeon has already gone ahead pointing out that any hypothetical veto would be merely a «political decision». In her view, it would involve «using trans people, who are already one of the most vulnerable and stigmatized groups in society, as a political weapon.»
Scotland’s chief minister has recalled that the law was passed by an «overwhelming majority,» including Labour. The main Labour leader, Keir Starmer, has questioned, however, the lowering of the minimum age to apply for a change of gender on the register.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
