JK Rowling has challenged Scotland’s new hate crime law in a series of social media posts - inviting police to arrest her if they believe she has committed an offence.

The Harry Potter author, who lives in Edinburgh, described several transgender women as men, including convicted prisoners, trans activists and other public figures.

She said “freedom of speech and belief” was at an end if accurate description of biological sex was outlawed.

Earlier, Scotland’s first minister Humza Yousaf said the new law would deal with a “rising tide of hatred”.

The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 creates a new crime of “stirring up hatred” relating to age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or being intersex.

Ms Rowling, who has long been a critic of some trans activism, posted on X on the day the new legislation came into force.

  • @[email protected]
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    fedilink
    09 months ago

    What do I have to do with USA? USA would be a rather good example why government should not have the power to censor speech.

    • @undergroundoverground
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      19 months ago

      Its usually only Americans who are that totalitarian in their presence of protecting freezepeach, thinking we don’t all know what they really want to protect.

      What speech exactly is it that would be stopped from saying here, that you feel a need to say?