LONDON (AP) — J.K. Rowling did not break the law with tweets criticizing Scotland’s new hate speech law and Slabureferring to transgender women as men, the police said Tuesday.
The “Harry Potter” author opposes the law, which came into force on Monday and makes it illegal to stir up hatred on the basis of characteristics such as age, disability, religion, sexual orientation and transgender identity.
Rowling is among critics who say the legislation could be used to silence so-called “gender-critical” feminists, who argue that rights for trans women should not come at the expense of those who are born biologically female.
In a series of posts on X, Rowling referred to several prominent trans women as men. Misgendering could be an offense under the new law, in some circumstances.
Rowling posted that “if what I’ve written here qualifies as an offence under the terms of the new act, I look forward to being arrested.”
“Freedom of speech and belief are at an end in Scotland if the accurate description of biological sex is deemed criminal,” she said.
Police in Scotland said the force had received complaints, but that “the comments are not assessed to be criminal and no further action will be taken.”
Scotland’s semi-autonomous government says the new legislation — known as the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act — will help tackle hatred and abuse.
Critics, however, say it will have a chilling effect on free speech.
2025-05-06 00:291149 view
2025-05-06 00:21715 view
2025-05-06 00:052888 view
2025-05-05 23:19375 view
2025-05-05 22:47558 view
2025-05-05 22:222393 view
PARIS – The disappointment in missing out on a chance to win gold is mitigated by a chance at bronze
Josef Newgarden put his cheating scandal behind him to become the first back-to-back winner of the I
LONDON (AP) — Twelve people were injured when a Qatar Airways plane flying from Doha to Dublin on Su