Debate began Monday in the British Parliament over whether to ban U.S. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump from visiting the United Kingdom.
The debate, which was started by an online petition that described Trump’s comments about Muslims as “hate speech,” will not produce any binding decisions. Authority to ban someone from the country rests with the home secretary, not with Parliament. But the debate will give British lawmakers an unusual chance to weigh in directly on U.S. politics.
Some are concerned that blocking Trump would send an unfortunate message to America:
Paul Flynn said Mr Trump's call to ban Muslims from the US was "extremely dangerous" but barring him from the UK risked being seen as anti-American.
Yeah I would not worry about that as most of us view Donald Trump as "anti-American."
MP Tulip Siddiq seemed to have a better handle on the situation:
British Member of Parliament Tulip Siddiq urged her colleagues on Monday to support a ban on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, arguing that he would put Britons at risk by importing “violent ideology.”
Although MPs who spoke all agreed that Trump’s vitriol against immigrants had been out of bounds, most argued that banning him was not the best way to deal with the issue.
Siddiq, however, insisted that Trump would be endangering British Muslims if he was allowed into the country.
“This online petition signed by nearly 600,000 people shows that when people feel a sense of justice, when people feel we need to stop a poisonous corrosive man from entering our country, they will act in good conscience.”
“His words are not comical, his words are not funny, his words are poisonous,” she continued. “They risk inflaming tension between vulnerable communities.”
Excellent points.
As for how Americans will see a banning of Donald Trump from the UK?
Well I think most of us would understand completely, and then start considering options for how we could do the same thing here.
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