Scotland’s sweeping new ‘hate crime’ law, designed to protect a wide range of individuals (except women) from hatred, came into effect on Monday.
The Hate Crime and Public Order Act, under which police have even been told to target ‘hateful’ comedians, has received criticism from almost all quarters of Britain’s political society. Even The Guardian insisted that officials “should not stymie public debate,” despite noting that the law might well be “well intentioned.”
