236K Sign Petition to Keep Trump Out of UK

Scot who created the call for the ban has taken on Trump before
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 9, 2015 12:07 PM CST
236K Sign Petition to Keep Trump Out of UK
Donald Trump hangs out in the dunes of the Menie estate on the Aberdeenshire coast of Scotland on May 27, 2010.   (AP Photo/Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)

First it was a couple of US mayors, now it's the entire United Kingdom: Scottish activist Suzanne Kelly created a request on the British government's petitions website demanding that Donald Trump be denied entry to the UK, CNN reports, and the document has already received more than 236,000 signatures—far surpassing the 100,000 needed to get Parliament to consider the issue for debate. "The UK has banned entry to many individuals for hate speech," the petition reads. "The same principles should apply to everyone who wishes to enter the UK. If the United Kingdom is to continue applying the 'unacceptable behaviour' criteria to those who wish to enter its borders, it must be fairly applied to the rich as well as poor, and the [powerful] as well as [weak]."

This Scottish David has taken on the American Goliath before. Kelly, a citizen journalist for the Aberdeen Voice, gave Trump a hard time when he was building his Aberdeen golf course a few years back; she's also tried to get the real estate mogul stripped of an honorary degree at a local university, CNN notes. "The petition will allow all UK residents who want to stand up against … Donald Trump's hate speech specifically the opportunity to do so," Kelly tells the Voice. "People have been barred from the United Kingdom for less." The Metro backs up that claim, citing the banning of both rapper Tyler the Creator and anti-Islam activist Pamela Geller. Meanwhile, a counter-petition entitled "Don't Ban Trump From the United Kingdom" has emerged, calling Kelly's arguments "illogical"—but that petition had just over 1,600 signatures as of this writing. The House of Commons tells CNN a committee will decide Jan. 5 how to handle Kelly's petition. (More Donald Trump stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X