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Murray Blackburn Mackenzie vs. transgender people

Murray Blackburn Mackenzie, also styled MurrayBlackburnMackenzie, is an anti-trans policy analysis firm based in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Background

Murray Blackburn Mackenzie (MBM) was founded in 2018 by three analysts known for anti-trans activism:

Gender recognition and equality law: Between 2018 and 2023, MBM submitted extensive evidence to Scottish Parliament committees considering the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill.

Criminal justice and policing: Beginning in 2019, MBM examined Police Scotland policies, recording of sex in criminal justice data, and the accommodations of transgender prisoners.

Hate crime legislation: Between 2019 and 2021, MBM submitted written evidence concerning Scotland’s Hate Crime and Public Order legislation, arguing that proposed offenses involving “stirring up hatred” risked restricting lawful discussion of sex and gender issues.

Data collection and government transparency: MBM argues that replacing sex-based data with gender identity information could reduce the usefulness of official statistics for research and equality monitoring. They have produced detailed analyses of the Scottish Census, NHS data collection, crime recording, and administrative datasets where sex and gender identity were treated differently.

Academic publications and policy engagement: In addition to academic publications, MBM and each principal are involved in public-facing “gender critical” advocacy.

Anti-trans activism

In 2019, Scottish Affairs journal editor Michael Rosie published an anti-trans article by MBM members that led to significant controversy. It was later revealed that there was internal debate on whether it should be published. In 2021, Rosie published a critical paper and a reply by MBM.

In 2026, Amnesty International UK published reports on the anti-rights movement in the United Kingdom. The report listed a number of organizations, including groups under a new “gender critical” category. MBM was listed in both the May and July reports. On July 10, 2026, MBM sent a letter to AI UK requesting the reasoning.

References

Cowan, S., Giles, H. J., Hewer, R., Kaufmann, B., Kenny, M., Morris, S., & Baines, K. N. (2021). Sex and gender equality law and policy: a response to Murray, Hunter Blackburn and Mackenzie. Scottish Affairs, 30(1), 74–95. https://doi.org/10.3366/scot.2020.0347

Chandler, Mark (August 3, 2020). EUP ‘tried to censor’ journal article over transphobia concerns. The Bookseller https://www.thebookseller.com/news/eup-tried-censor-journal-article-over-transphobia-concerns-1213828

Anti-trans coverage

Rosie, Michael (2021). Sex, Gender and Scottish Affairs: A Note from the Editor. Scottish Affairs https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/story/10.3366/news.2020.11.20.500360 [archive]

Davidson, Susanna (August 2, 2020). Academics tell of bid by Edinburgh University Press to censor article on transwomen. The Sunday Times https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/academics-tell-of-bid-by-edinburgh-university-press-to-censor-article-on-transwomen-5frs77fhd

Phillips, Trevor (August 30, 2019). Our wimpish leaders are bullied by activists. The Times https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/minority-activists-have-got-our-leaders-on-the-run-3bsnjljwd

Selected publications

Hunter Blackburn, L., Murray, K., & Mackenzie, L. (2021). Losing sight of women’s rights (again): a response to Cowan et al. Scottish Affairs, 30(1), 96–121. https://doi.org/10.3366/scot.2020.0348

MurrayBlackburnMackenzie (November 21, 2020). Sex, gender identity, and the erosion of academic norms. https://murrayblackburnmackenzie.org/2020/11/21/sex-gender-identity-and-the-erosion-of-academic-norms/

MurrayBlackburnMackenzie (August 2020). Justice Committee: Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill: Submission by MurrayBlackburnMackenzie. https://murrayblackburnmackenzie.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/mbm-hate-crime-and-public-order-bill.-submission-to-the-justice-committee-23-july-2020-.pdf

Murray, K., Blackburn, L. H., & Mackenzie, L. (2020). Reform “under the radar”? Lessons for Scotland from the Development of Gender Self-Declaration Laws in Europe. Edinburgh Law Review, 24(2), 281–289. https://doi.org/10.3366/elr.2020.0634

Murray K, Blackburn L (July 29, 2019). Losing Sight of Women’s Rights: the unregulated introduction of gender self-identification as a case study of policy capture in Scotland. Scottish Affairs https://murrayblackburnmackenzie.org/2019/07/29/losing-sight-of-womens-rights-article-for-scottish-affairs/ https://doi.org/10.3366/scot.2019.0284 full text https://www.pure.ed.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/109539755/MurrayBlackburnSA2019LosingSightOfWomenRights.pdf

Resources

Murray Blackburn Mackenzie (murrayblackburnmackenzie.org)

Crowdfunder (crowdfunder.co.uk)

UK Companies House (find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk)