How Scottish Trans Rights Law Sparked a UK Constitutional Feud

The UK government has sparked a constitutional clash with Scotland by blocking a new law that would make it simpler for people to change their legal gender. It’s the first time that London has intervened to veto legislation by the Scottish Parliament since it was re-established in 1999 under a process called devolution. The ensuing feud has further inflamed tension over the Scottish government’s demand for a second referendum on independence, which the UK is refusing to permit.

Called the Gender Recognition Reform Bill, the law would make it simpler for people in Scotland to get a certificate legally recognizing that their gender is different to the one they were assigned at birth. The new legislation would also get rid of the requirement to have a medical diagnosis of “gender dysphoria,” defined by the National Health Service as “a sense of unease that a person may have because of a mismatch between their biological sex and their gender identity.” It would also speed up the process and lower the age at which people can apply for such a certificate from 18 to 16. Similar laws have already been approved in countries such as Iceland, Argentina, New Zealand, Spain and some US states.