The Supreme Court has ruled, and the judgement is absolutely clear. The justices stated that sex in the 2010 Equality Act, enacted by the Labour Government, can only ever mean biological sex.
For same-sex attracted people, this clarification of the law is confirmation that we, as homosexuals, have our human rights fully protected and we can, once again, meet and associate as a single-sex category. Any other conclusion would have rendered the protected characteristics of sex and sexual orientation incoherent and unworkable. As the judgment pointed out in Section 204 “People are not sexually oriented towards those in possession of a certificate”.
Further, the justices were clear that the interpretation does not cause disadvantage to trans people, with or without a GRC. Full details are contained within Sections 248-263 of the judgement. Under the category of gender reassignment, trans people have the same protections provided by the Equality Act against discrimination and harassment as other groups, which is exactly as it should be.
What has ensued since the Supreme Court judgement is that people who should know better are jumping to conclusions rather than reading the actual ruling. The fear they are whipping up pits one protected characteristic against another, which is itself contrary to the Act. Misogyny and homophobia are rife, and it deeply saddens us that some in the Labour Party are participating in a campaign of misinformation without reflecting on the impact of their refusal to accept the law.
We are confident that the leadership of the Labour Party will soon make a more considered response which we trust will be to support the law of this land.
