A Scottish MP has detailed how she had to call the police after being abused for holding hands in public with her same-sex partner.
Hannah Bardell said she had faced threats in Scotland simply because she was a lesbian.
Speaking during a debate on 50 years of Pride in the UK, the Livingston MP told the Commons of the hostile reaction she had received in public.
READ MORE: Angela Crawley to lead Pride debate in Commons
Bardell was highlighting how in 71 countries around the world people can stil be persecuted in law for being gay.
She said she is an “openly proud lesbian” but that is still illegal to be LGBTQ in 71 countries
She said: “I am illegal in 71 countries. And in 11 of those countries the death penalty still exists for same-sex consensual activities.”
Conservative MP Kieran Mullan said her remarks highlighted the “extreme circumstances” that people go through in other countries, He added: “But one of the tests I think we often ask ourselves is: would every gay person in this place on a late night out surrounded by drunk crowds of people feel confident to hold the hand of their partner?”
“I’m not sure they would actually. I think even in this country there is a lot we can still do when it comes to issues like that.”
Bardell replied: “I absolutely agree with him. You know, I’ve had experiences myself that I’ve had to report to the police just from holding hands with a partner and being abused, you know, in Scotland.
“And that’s the reality that many of us have faced and that we have seen in recent times in the press, members of the LGBTQ+ community being attacked and targeted simply for holding hands with their same-sex partner.”
To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here.
READ NEXT:
