Today a new law went into effect in Scotland. It’s called the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act and the law appears to make it a crime to insult someone from a protected group. Here’s what the law actually says:
Offences of stirring up hatred
(1) A person commits an offence if—
(a) the person—
(i) behaves in a manner that a reasonable person would consider to be threatening, abusive or insulting, or
(ii) communicates to another person material that a reasonable person would consider to be threatening, abusive or insulting, and
(b) either—
(i) in doing so, the person intends to stir up hatred against a group of persons based on the group being defined by reference to race, colour, nationality (including citizenship), or ethnic or national origins, or
(ii) a reasonable person would consider the behaviour or the communication of the material to be likely to result in hatred…
