Scotland passes hate crime legislation

More great news.

Following the lead of the parliaments of England and Wales, the Scottish Parliament Wednesday passed legislation that will ban hate crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.

From Pinknews:

"Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill welcomed the vote saying: 'No one in Scotland should have a crime committed against them simply on the basis of disability or sexual orientation. With hate crime, that is exactly what happens.

'This Bill will improve the way the courts deal with these crimes. If it's shown that the motivation for an offence was hostility and ill-will based on sexual orientation, transgender identity or disability, that will now be taken into account and the sentence be able to reflect that.

'This Bill sends a clear message that prejudice, hatred and crime aimed at specific groups is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. That's why I am pleased that the Bill has now been passed by Parliament."

The high road!

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