all 5 comments

[–]our_team_is_winning 7 insightful - 1 fun7 insightful - 0 fun8 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Glad to see every single comment weighed in "I do not have a gender identity." Liked this one best:

<Asteroid @AlessandraAster · Oct 7 Replying to @coe Stop compelling belief. I do not have a gender identity. This is unlawful in human rights law.>

[–]MarkTwainiac 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

Just to clarify: this is not about any new law being passed or even proposed.

The Council of Europe made this Tweet celebrating the 20th anniversary of the ruling of a landmark court case before the European Court of Human Rights pertaining to gender identity. The European Court of Human Rights is a branch of the Council of Europe.

The ECHR's ruling in that 2000 case said that it's a human rights violation not to allow trans people to remain or get married to someone of the same sex that they were "transitioning" to. This led the UK in 2004 to pass its Gender Recognition Act, aka the GRA. The GRA is a deeply flawed, contradictory law that was proposed and passed largely so trans people in the UK would be able to marry within their same "gender identity" or "legal sex" without going so far as to pass legislation that would make same-sex marriage legal for all people in the UK.

The Council of Europe was founded after WW2 to promote human rights, democracy and the rule of law amongst its member states, which currently number 47.

The Council of Europe is not a legislative body; it can't pass or make laws. But it does have oversight over enforcement of some international agreements its member states have entered into. And the Council of Europe can and does develop and issue policy statements, guidance and PR campaigns advising nations who are party to it what the Council believes they must do to be in compliance with certain agreements and court rulings that

[–]zephyranthes 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

The ECHR's ruling in that 2000 case said that it's a human rights violation not to allow trans people to remain or get married to someone of the same sex that they were "transitioning" to.

Especially sinister in light of UK's savage divorce law.

The GRA is a deeply flawed, contradictory law that was proposed and passed largely so trans people in the UK would be able to marry within their same "gender identity" or "legal sex" without going so far as to pass legislation that would make same-sex marriage legal for all people in the UK.

...which could've been easily accomplished by not letting people to change their legal sex in the first place. Wear a dress, become a horrorblob, stay legally the sex you were born, keep your poor opposite-sex spouse shackled to you.

[–]MarkTwainiac 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

One thing to the GRA's credit, it does give spouses of transers an escape clause. Which trans activists are trying to get rid of - coz they think straight women who married straight men, and who in most cases had and raised children with those men, should be forced not only to go along with the charade that hubby is now a woman, but to have to live the lie that they now are in - and always have been in - a lesbian marriage or partnership.

BTW, in case that makes the women sound homophobic: my experience with hetero "trans widows" is that none of them are homophobic. On the contrary, they have a great deal of respect for lesbians, gay men and bi people. Which is one of the reasons they think it's terribly wrong and unfair to go along with their male partners' insistence that they, a het couple, are now a lesbian couple. It's an insult to all real lesbians. And it's such a distortion and denial of reality, going along with this offensive lie is bound to fuck up the children of these marriages and partnerships even more,

[–]CleverNickName 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Oh, I needed a pick-me-up, and seeing practically every single reply in there go "No we don't, shut the fuck up" gave me a hearty laugh.

There may be hope for us yet.