CNA Staff, Mar 19, 2024 / 11:00 am
A new law in Scotland related to “hate crimes” that has garnered criticism from the country’s Catholic bishops is set to come into effect April 1 after being passed into law nearly two years ago.
The new law — which the Scottish government says modernizes and “extends” existing hate crime law — creates a new crime of stirring up hatred against any of the protected groups covered by the bill. Covered characteristics include race, religion, sexual orientation, and transgender identity.
Stirring up racial hatred by threatening, abusive, or insulting behavior was already illegal under Scotland’s Public Order Act 1986, but the bill expands the law to other protected categories.
Specifically, the bill criminalizes threatening or abusive behavior based on a person’s age, disability, race, color, nationality (including citizenship), or ethnic or national origins, religion or perceived religious affiliation, sexual orientation, transgender identity, or variations in sex characteristics.