On the 24th of June 2023, the Family Education Trust (FET), an ultraconservative Christian organisation with strong links to the anti-trans gender critical movement, held its annual conference in London. One keynote speaker was anti-trans activist Harry Miller of the organisation Fair Cop. Fair Cop are an anti-trans organisation whose past activities have included their #SayYesToHate hashtag and intervening on behalf of James Goddard, a member of the far right organisation Patriotic Alternative after he was investigated by the police over a video calling LGBTQ+ Pride flags an “emblem of “nonces””. Goddard has previously promoted extreme antisemitic conspiracy theories and has been convicted for assault at a protest.
Telegram post by Goddard calling for his followers to be “awake to the [Jewish Question]”, a neo-Nazi slogan referencing the idea that the existence of Jewish people is, in itself, a problem.
In the nearly hour long speech Miller described Fair Cop’s role intervening on behalf of police officers facing disciplinary measures over allegations of transphobia and misogyny, as well as his personal history and how he feels his religious views relate to his activism. Miller also singled out a number of trans women for mockery over their appearance, including transgender advocate Freda Wallace, who wrote about her experiences of being targeted by the gender critical movement on her Medium.
Miller took aim at “Love is love”, a mainstream gay equality slogan popularised during campaigns for legalising same sex marriage, countering “God is love” before going on to falsely imply that the use of the slogan is part of an effort by “critical theorists” to normalise child sexual abuse.
Much of Miller’s talk was taken up with the virtues of being a “fighter” with reference to Bible stories about battles and war and the religious justifications for anti-trans activism, stating “If God for with us, who can be against us?” In one alarming moment, towards the end of his talk, Miller extolled the virtues of “violent resistance” as described in the Old Testament, saying:
"I love the Bible but I'm very much Old Testament, as opposed to New Testament. It may come as a surprise that I identify less with Martha and Mary, for instance, than I do with Jael, the wife of Heber, because Jael, bless her soul, is the kind of woman who when her enemy is sleeping, drives a tent peg through their temple and does it in the name of God."
Miller closed by extending an offer of support to FET members “defending the family” through their conservative activism, saying:
"If the police advise to you that you are on the verge of committing a crime or in fact have committed a crime then what you need to do is get hold of me."
Miller is not the only UK gender critical figure to recently cite violent Bible passages in relation to their anti-trans activism. Gender critical journalist Helen Joyce appeared on US conservative Megyn Kelly’s podcast last month where she suggested that a transgender politician would be better to commit suicide than to continue to advocate for internationally recognised standards of trans healthcare with reference to a Bible verse often used by the US right to call for violence against LGBTQ+ people. This increased engagement with violent religious rhetoric marks a concerning escalation by UK gender critical public figures, who have previously been less willing to engage in such extreme rhetoric in public.