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11
Feb
Harrogate and Knaresborough MP calls for 'effective' prosecution of trans hate crimes
Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Tom Gordon has questioned government attempts to prosecute people who commit hate crimes, especially against trans people.
The Liberal Democrat raised the issue in Parliament last week and has since commented further.
During a Commons debate, Mr Gordon asked Solicitor-General Lucy Rigby what steps she is taking to help ensure the effective prosecution of people who commit hate crimes.
Ms Rigby replied:
Whether online or in person, stirring up hatred or inciting violence will not be tolerated. The government are determined to take swift and robust action to stamp out hate crime, and perpetrators will face the full force of the law.
Mr Gordon went on to say February is LGBT History Month and asked “what steps have been taken to ensure that trans people in particular feel safe, and that perpetrators of hate crimes towards trans people are brought to justice?”.
Ms Rigby said the Crown Prosecution Service and police were “committed to joint working to increase the number of police referrals to the CPS for hate crime offences” but added: “I think we would all admit that there is more to do.”
Speaking afterwards, Mr Gordon said there had been a “big increase in hate crime against a large number of minority communities, including the trans and wider LGBTQ+ community, which has especially been targeted as part of so-called culture wars.”
He added:
As a liberal, I believe it’s absolutely vital that everyone in this country feels safe, regardless of their ethnicity, religion or identity. That includes the LGBTQ+ community, and particularly right now the trans community, who are often punched down on and attacked for nothing more than being who they are.
It’s important that hate is raised in Parliament. The trans community is often under fire, and a victim of culture warring that does nothing but turn people against each other and divide us up. Our communities aren’t footballs to be kicked around, but real people who care and love and deserve to be allowed to be themselves.
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