It looks like the government is making another U turn on LGBTQ+ rights.
According to The Sunday Times, the applauded Gender Recognition Act (GRA) is off the table as it seems ministers are looking to drop the reform.
Yesterday, Stonewall published an online thread acknowledging the speculation around the fate of the act.
The LGBTQ+ charity tweeted: “There’s more rumours in today’s papers that the Government may drop plans to meaningfully reform the Gender Recognition Act.
Even though the majority of the public support introducing a simplified process for trans people to get legal recognition of their gender.”
This statement was followed by a call for action by the government declaring that “Trans people have waited too long for equality”.
The charity backed the trans community calling the current GRA “outdated” and emphasised the British public “overwhelmingly” agreed with the reform, as well as trade unions and the British Medical Association.
Online, transgender journalist and writer Shon Faye took to Twitter to address the news, saying: “I’m not surprised that the GRA reform has been scrapped.”
https://twitter.com/shonfaye/status/1307631272299290625?s=20
Faye elaborated on the tweet in another post below outlining how transphobia emerges, saying: “Transphobia is a deep seated prejudice but I think it’s more often casually ignorant; it’s fanatical in a very small number of people.”
In The Sunday Times report, it was revealed the government are seeking to backtrack progress made by Theresa May which involved making it easier to legally change your gender and to remove the cost of doing so which is currently £140.
Transgender UK charity Mermaids contributed on the speculated news, stating they are “awaiting a formal announcement” on whether the Act will be dropped.
After articles published today, rumours are spreading about the Government’s plans for the Gender Recognition Act reform.
We are patiently awaiting a formal announcement and will continue to be optimistic for the future of trans rights in the UK. #TransRightsAreHumanRights
— Mermaids (@Mermaids_Gender) September 20, 2020
Since this statement, the charity has reaffirmed their position on waiting for news and posted a tweet which offers a link to an online petition which calls for reformation of the GRA.
You can access it here or below:
We'll await the official announcement on GRA reform before commenting. Meanwhile it's worth repeating: 📣 trans people can already self-id for passports, driving licences and yes, access to single sex spaces. That isn't changing. Take heart.#uktransrights https://t.co/sVrm3zX1bt
— Mermaids (@Mermaids_Gender) September 20, 2020
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