Americans can breathe a sigh of relief with Biden - Andy Wightman

It has been some week on the international stage. Like millions, I watched the inauguration of the 46th President of the USA, Joe Biden.
Andy Wightman has given an emotional interview about his decision to resign from the Scottish Greens.Andy Wightman has given an emotional interview about his decision to resign from the Scottish Greens.
Andy Wightman has given an emotional interview about his decision to resign from the Scottish Greens.

He is a man of calm decency with a respect for the democratic process and I am heartily glad to see the back of Mr Trump - “don’t haste ye back” as the First Minister said.

The new President has wasted no time in reversing some of Trump’s most damaging policies. The USA rejoins the UN Paris Climate agreement, a welcome step as we approach the Climate Summit in Glasgow at the end of the year, when hard decisions are going to have to be taken to curb carbon emissions and avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis.

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He has ripped up plans for the massive Keystone XL oil pipeline, which has been the focus of opposition by environmental groups.

The new President also moved swiftly to focus on the coronavirus pandemic, which Trump belittled and ignored. With over 405,000 deaths from the virus (a number higher than all US combat and non-combat deaths in World War Two) and almost 25 million cases, Biden faces a monumental challenge, but Americans can breathe a sigh of relief that the adults are back in charge.

And on equalities he has implemented a US Supreme Court ruling on the rights of gay and transgender people. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 only prevents employment discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, religion, sex or national origin.

The Supreme Court found that gay and transgender people can also be discriminated against, in part at least because of their sex, and thus they are entitled to protection on those grounds.

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This ruling is being applied to all government agencies across the country and provides interim protection against discrimination for gay and transgender people in the USA.

Nuclear weapons

On Friday another big step for peace and equality took place as the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons came into force. It is a victory for tens of thousands of peace campaigners all over the world.

Of course, Russia, the USA and the UK have not signed it but they are now increasingly on the wrong side of history as people reject the notion that any country should hold and be prepared to use weapons of such immense and horrific destructive power.

Congratulations to all the campaigners across Scotland and the world who have worked together as part of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

Local government

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On a more modest note, last week closed with the publication of the Local Government Committee’s Stage One report on my Members’ Bill to enshrine the European Charter of Local Self-Government into Scots law. This will give greater protection to the autonomy and freedoms of local government in Scotland, leaving just England, Wales and Hungary as European countries that have not adopted this international treaty.

Andy Wightman is Independent MSP for Lothian Region