Scottish parliament has banned men from women’s restrooms in a swift move after its Supreme Court upheld accurate definitions of gender in a recent ruling.
The parliament building, known as the Holyrood, declared bathrooms designated “male” or “female” will refer to biological sex only, as opposed to the gender identity and/or delusion of any individual.
The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body made the announcement after the U.K. Supreme Court upheld a definition of sex from the 2010 Equality Act.
“This examination of the language of the EA 2010, its context and purpose, demonstrate that the words ‘sex,’ ‘woman’ and ‘man’ in sections 11 and 212(1) mean (and were always intended to mean) biological sex, biological woman and biological man,” the court noted in an 88-page ruling.
‘It will exclude us and segregate us in the heart of Scotland’s democracy.’
Presiding officer Alison Johnstone said the move was to ensure “confidence, privacy and dignity” for staff and visitors. The SPCB declared the changes were to be immediate and that they were practical and made at a “minimal cost.”
Three more existing public restrooms will be designated as gender-neutral bathrooms, in addition to female-only and male-only bathrooms, among other accessibility- and disability-related bathrooms.
Johnstone said it was important to take such steps after the latest ruling and added that parliament needed to fulfill its legal responsibilities sooner rather than later.
“Such clarity is an important element in offering all individuals confidence, privacy and dignity when using our facilities,” she explained. “Everyone working in, or visiting, Holyrood should feel welcome in the building and be confident there is a suitable facility for them.”
Tess White, a conservative politician and minister for women and equalities, pressured the leader of the country, known as the first minister, to implement the same rules nationwide.
“If the Scottish Parliament can respond to the Supreme Court judgment so swiftly, there is no excuse for [First Minister] John Swinney to keep dragging his heels.”
White continued, “He must instruct all public bodies to uphold the law immediately instead of pandering to gender extremists.”
Predictably, pro-trans activist groups in Scotland were not pleased with the decision.
The Scottish Trans and Equality Network called the decision “rushed, unworkable and exclusionary,” according to the BBC.
Manager of the organization Scottish Trans, Vic Valentine, who uses “they/them” pronouns, claimed not to be able to “understand why this decision has been described as one that will bring ‘confidence, privacy and dignity’ to everyone.”
Valentine claimed it would not bring any of those things for transgender people, but that it would cause segregation in Scotland’s most important institutions.
“It will not do so for trans people. It will exclude us and segregate us in the heart of Scotland’s democracy.”
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