Political rivals are standing with a Conservative MSP who got in trouble with Police Scotland over a tweet. Murdo Fraser criticized the Scottish Government‘s plan for non-binary equality and was reported to the police.
Even though the police said no laws were broken, they still labeled it a ‘hate incident.’ This has caused big concerns about free speech, especially with the upcoming new Hate Crime Act.
Support for Fraser is coming from different parties. Some say it’s like the political witch hunts of the 1950s in the US. Joanna Cherry, an SNP MP, said she and Fraser disagree, but they both believe in free speech. She supports him in taking legal action against Police Scotland.
Another MP, Neale Hanvey, said he disagrees with Fraser on many things but supports him on important freedoms like freedom of speech and thought.
Others backing Fraser include Susan Dalgety, whose article started the whole thing, and Jim Spence, who thinks the law is poorly made and dangerous for democracy.
Fraser got in trouble for sharing Dalgety’s article and saying that identifying as non-binary is like identifying as a cat. He thinks the police’s actions go against human rights and privacy laws.
Fraser is working with the Free Speech Union and might sue the police to remove the incident from his record and change how hate incidents are recorded. He gave the police until April 5 to respond but hasn’t heard back from the chief constable yet.
