Just one day after Scotland’s new Hate Crime Act took effect, police announced that they would not pursue criminal charges against “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling under its provisions.
The law creates a new crime of “stirring up hatred,” particularly with regard to certain protected classes and designations — and there were many who believed Rowling might come under scrutiny for X posts standing up for biological women’s spaces and refusing to refer to trans-identifying men as “women.”
“The force said complaints had been received but no action would be taken,” the BBC reported with regard to Rowling and the new law.
The author responded to the news via X, saying, “I hope every woman in Scotland who wishes to speak up for the reality and importance of biological sex will be reassured by this announcement, and I trust that all women — irrespective of profile or financial means — will be treated equally under the law.”
I hope every woman in Scotland who wishes to speak up for the reality and importance of biological sex will be reassured by this announcement, and I trust that all women – irrespective of profile or financial means – will be treated equally under the law.https://t.co/CsgehF2a5d
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 2, 2024
Rowling had previously thumbed her nose at the new law — promising to defy it herself and to proudly stand alongside any other woman who did the same — saying that she would not allow the truth to be censored in an effort to spare the feelings of biological males who wanted to usurp women’s roles and spaces.
“If you genuinely imagine I’d delete posts calling a man a man, so as not to be prosecuted under this ludicrous law, stand by for the mother of all April Fools’ jokes,” she said to one critic who advised she delete posts referring to trans-identifying men as men.
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If you genuinely imagine I’d delete posts calling a man a man, so as not to be prosecuted under this ludicrous law, stand by for the mother of all April Fools’ jokes. pic.twitter.com/ZVZQ6CV47p
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 17, 2024
Rowling made good on her April Fools Day promise, sharing a thread that showcased some of the worst male offenders who would be protected — at the expense of biological women — under the new law.
Scotland's Hate Crime Act comes into effect today. Women gain no additional protections, of course, but well-known trans activist Beth Douglas, darling of prominent Scottish politicians, falls within a protected category. Phew! 1/11 pic.twitter.com/gCKGwdjr5m
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 1, 2024
“In passing the Scottish Hate Crime Act, Scottish lawmakers seem to have placed higher value on the feelings of men performing their idea of femaleness, however misogynistically or opportunistically, than on the rights and freedoms of actual women and girls,” the author concluded. “I’m currently out of the country, but if what I’ve written here qualifies as an offence under the terms of the new act, I look forward to being arrested when I return to the birthplace of the Scottish Enlightenment.”