J.K. Rowling Responds To U.K. Labour Party’s Reported Plans To Make Deliberate Misgendering A Criminal Offense: “I’ll Happily Do Two Years If The Alternative Is Compelled Speech”
Spencer Baculi
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In light of a new report that the U.K.’s Labour political party may be looking to outlaw the deliberate misgendering of transgender individuals, Harry Potter scribe J.K. Rowling has declared that she would rather do prison time than engage in “compelled speech.”
J.K. Rowling is excited for the future while discussing her new children’s book, The Christmas Pig
This supposedly desired change to the legal code of the island nation was first detailed to the public by UK news outlet The Daily Mail, who on October 14th were able to “reveal” to their readers that “Deliberately calling someone by the ‘wrong’ gender pronouns could become a hate crime punishable by imprisonment under a Labour government.”
“Vowing to toughen up the sentencing guidelines for abuse and violence targeted at trans people, Labour would make attacks motivated by hatred of the victim’s gender identity into ‘aggravated offences’,” explained the outlet’s Martin Beckford. “This would bring transphobic abuse into line with assault and harassment motivated by hatred on the grounds of race or religion, which are punishable by up to two years in prison.”
“Critics warn that the policy could therefore mean jail sentences for someone refusing to use a transgender person’s preferred pronouns, or referring to them by their former name or their birth sex rather than their chosen gender,” he added.
Author J.K. Rowling reads from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone at the Easter Egg Roll at White House. Screenshot taken from official White House video. Photo Credit: Executive Office of the President, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
According to fellow UK news channel GBN, the Labour party made clear their intentions to criminalize the act of misgendering during their 2023 Party Conference, as recently held in Liverpool from October 8th – 11th.
“The Conservatives are failing to protect LGBT+ people with their inability to get a handle on hate crime, including violent hate crime,” reportedly asserted Shadow Women and Equalities Secretary Anneliese Dodds.
“Labour will strengthen the law to ensure the perpetrators of anti-LGBT+ hate can no longer dodge longer sentences,” she continued. “And our fully funded plan to recruit 13,000 more neighbourhood police and community support officers would increase safety for everyone.”
J.K. Rowling (Robert Galbraith) reads First Chapter of The Running Grave (September 26th, 2023)
Rowling would offer her thoughts on the matter amidst a brief October 17th discussion with a fan held via her personal Twitter account.
The conversation began when Rowling, seemingly apropos of nothing in particular, shared a 2018 image of the words ‘Repeat after me: Trans women are women’ being projected on the office walls of the U.K.’s Ministry of Justice and simply replied, “No.”
Archive Link J.K. Rowling via Twitter
Ostensibly making mocking reference to The Daily Mail’s above report, fellow Twitter user @MusicbyScott then jokingly replied to the author, “Vote Labour, get a two year stretch!”
Archive Link @MusicbyScott via Twitter
In turn, Rowling declared, “I’ll happily do two years if the alternative is compelled speech and forced denial of the reality and importance of sex.”
“Bring on the court case, I say,” she further asserted. “It’ll be more fun than I’ve ever had on a red carpet.”
Archive Link J.K. Rowling via Twitter
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