Let’s get one thing straight. It’s your job to convey your gender. It’s not our job to guess.
Unfortunately, in the United Kingdom for one autistic teenager, it’s considered a hate crime to ask someone if they’re a man or a woman. The teen, who suffers from Asperger’s – an ailment on the autism spectrum that diminishes one’s ability to censor one’s thoughts in the same way as ‘normal’ people – asked a police officer their gender. That’s when the trouble for him began.
The 19-year-old young man, Declan Armstrong, offended the ‘transgender’ (no one has ever transitioned their gender, but the term refers to someone pretending to be the opposite sex) support officer, ‘Connor’ Freel, who claims they were “upset and embarrassed” by the young man.
Armstrong was charged with violating the Welsh Public Order Act 1986 by “using abusive or insulting words with intent to cause harassment,” and had his sentenced raised from “a low level to a medium level community order because of its transphobic nature.”
The law against offending ‘transgender’ people is designed to create a tough stance on transphobia, emphasizing tolerance and inclusivity.
According to Yahoo News, the teen was fined £590 (about $800 USD) – and was given a strict three-month curfew, which local papers are calling a “daily house arrest.”
