Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022 - Read OP

Not really. Hate speech laws tend to be used as a new form of blasphemy laws. They're not called that because the value system they seek to protect is not officially a religion, but they operate in the same way. They protect sacred cows but do little to tackle hate or ill-feeling between or toward certain groups. The section of this law that is most at issue—the possession of incitement material and the requirement for the accused to prove innocence rather than to receive a presumption of it under law—goes further even than many blasphemy laws.

I think Paul Murphy (though I would likely disagree with him on a large majority of policy proposals) had it right on this. Laws should be written with an eye toward the absolute worst ways they could be used by the absolute worst people, and not be dependent upon the judiciary to have "common sense". Every totalitarian regime in history rode to power on a wave of well-intentioned people certain they were on the right side of history.

Broad, gifting your niece a dress is gender-affirming.

I'm a woman by virtue of having genetics oriented toward the production of large gametes and having reached adulthood.

Androgyny is a term that refers to a person who holds characteristics that are considered masculine and characteristics that are considered feminine. I have never met a person who is not androgynous in that sense. Such notions of masculinity and femininity are socially constructed and change over distance and time. Frequently.

I don’t know him so maybe. Rock culture is chock full of cross dressing and rocky horror picture show type stuff.

We're wildly off-topic, I fear, but there's nothing wrong with that.

These laws are a terrible weapon to put in the hands of the State.

Nebulous enough to be wielded in accordance with the needs of the day, to destroy the enemy of the day.

Telling the truth, holding a principle, expressing a contrarian opinion; these were often things which were difficult, soon they may be illegal.

Conformists applaud in the belief this venomous legislation hurts an imaginary Far Right, even as their personal liberty is stripped away.

You can't support these laws and claim to be a liberal, or even a democrat, these positions are irreconcilable.

The position of this nation in relation to its government is weakened severely. Discourse and freedom of expression will suffer as a result.

A horrible development in what used to be a gentle, humane little republic.

I answered in regard to androgyny.

I'd probably be an agnostic atheist according to most if we got into it, I guess. Not something I've really thought about much.