A petition started on petition.parliament.uk yesterday has already gained over 190,000 signatures from British residents. Once a petition hits 100,000 signatures, the British Parliament is required to consider holding a debate on the subject.
The organizers of the petition cite British laws on hate speech as a basis for banning Trump, following his call for the United States to bar all Muslims from entering the country. The petition states:
The UK has banned entry to many individuals for hate speech. 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 weak as well as powerful.
Gaining over 100,000 signatures doesn’t mean, however, that Parliament will actually debate the issue. Earlier this year, a petition to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu during his Downing Street visit in September was rejected as a topic for debate. And in fact, 14 out of the 15 most recently rejected petitions called for a debate about Trump:
