For all the pulpit pounding that came with Scotland’s controversial Hate Crime and Public Order Act, the actual hate crimes reported are miniscule. How much so? Just over one-half of one percent of reported verbal misdeeds were found to have any legitimacy.
Embattled First Minister Humza Yousaf attempted to criminalize free speech in numerous categories. Offending protected classes that include the LGBT community, racial minorities, the elderly and disabled could land an offender behind bars for a stunning seven years.
The public rose in unison against the suppression of free speech — even in one’s own home — and it has thus far been a spectacular failure.
The invasion in Lukeville is just one example of the disastrous Biden-Mayorkas open border policies.
I spoke with a border patrol agent who encountered a group of 300-400 illegal aliens on Tuesday night alone.
I’ll keep you posted. pic.twitter.com/xc63As6zD9
— Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) April 25, 2024
The intent of the speaker is irrelevant, as it only matters if the statement may be perceived to stir up “hatred.”
Even CNN was forced to admit that a law that proponents sold as bringing people together instead resulted in further societal division. Among those organizing against the statute was a women’s group which rallied against their right to verbally defend their spaces being infringed upon.
“Let Women Speak” gathered in Scotland’s capital earlier this month to voice their opposition to the act. Their ability to stand up against male encroachment into female spaces is under attack, and they responded.
Also responding, of course, was a small band of supporters of men who mistakenly believe they are women.
Scottish officials report receiving roughly 9,400 complaints, a deluge that flooded the beleaguered Police Scotland department. Authorities already faced a manpower shortage and a rash of thefts that accompanied the most widespread drug crisis in Europe.
And The Times reported that 0.6% of complaints were deemed to have merit. But the squad vowed to investigate every alleged instance, draining resources that are already perilously thin.
Critics of the “hate speech” law are plentiful and vocal. They include Scottish Police Federation head David Threadgold.
He warned that the frivolous act would be wielded as a club by radical activists to settle political scores and by individuals simply seeking to harm others.
Many of the “hate speech” reports that poured in noted Yousaf’s own words in an infamous 2020 diatribe in which he criticized the country for having too many White officials.
These complaints were so pervasive that Police Scotland provided officers with a script to explain to the citizen why Yousaf’s rant does not fit the parameters of “hate speech.”
