HATE CRIME BILL PASSES UNANIMOUSLY

From The Equality Network 4 June 2009

We are very happy to report that, yesterday afternoon, the Scottish Parliament unanimously passed Green MSP Patrick Harvie’s bill on hate crime, the Offences (Aggravation by Prejudice) (Scotland) Bill.

The bill will ensure that homophobic, transphobic and disability-related hate crime is taken as seriously as racist and religious hate crime.

This is the first transgender-inclusive hate crime bill in Europe, and has the most inclusive definition of transgender identity in any European legislation.

It’s also, we think, the first Member’s Bill in the Scottish Parliament to be passed unanimously by all MSPs with no amendments proposed at any stage!

Thank you to everyone who has supported the campaign for this legislation over the years, by contacting their MSPs or in any other way!

You can read the Parliamentary debate here: www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor0603-02.htm#Col18098 or here: http://tinyurl.com/qboho6

The Equality Network has been working on this legislation since 2002, when Patrick’s colleague Robin Harper submitted an amendment to deal with these hate crimes in another bill. That amendment was not accepted, but it led to the setting up of the Scottish Executive’s Hate Crime Working Group in 2003, which eventually led to 2007 election manifesto commitments to this legislation from the SNP, Liberal Democrats and Greens.

Patrick Harvie put forward his bill proposal in October 2007, and has been leading it since, supported by the Liberal Democrats and the SNP Government. Labour and the Conservatives came on board to support the bill also, as it was debated in the Parliament.

The bill will now go to the Queen for Royal Assent in July, and will become the Offences (Aggravation by Prejudice) (Scotland) Act 2009. It is likely to come into effect around the end of the year. Crown Office computer systems need to be updated first and training done.

www.equality-network.org