A petition to ban Donald Trump from entering the United Kingdom has received enough signatures to be debated in Parliament.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the petition to “block Donald J. Trump from UK entry” has already achieved over 300,000 signatures.
According to the petition author, Suzanne Kelly, “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.”
Since the petition has received over 300,000 signatures, not only is the government required to respond to the petition, but Parliament also needs to consider the petition for debate.
According to the Guardian, the petition was created before Trump made his controversial comments regarding Muslim entry into the United States.
Kelly told the Guardian, “I never in my wildest dreams imagined it would get so many signatures in under 24 hours. I thought it would be a huge victory if it got to 100,000 signatures by the end of its lifetime, so I’ve been as shocked as anyone, although pleasantly so.”
Kelly likes a variety of Trump-related pages on Facebook, including, “Tripping Up Trump Satire,” “Donald Trump is an idiot,” “Donald Trump is a D*****bag,” “Donald Trump is an Embarrassment to American Politics,” “Donald Trump Is a D*****tard,” and, oddly enough, “Donald Trump is the Man.”
Despite the fuss about wanting to deny Trump entry to the United Kingdom, Kelly is a member of the “Scottish Libertarians” Facebook group that claims to value the principle of “free speech and expression.”
In addition to the petition to ban Trump from entering the UK, Kelly also launched a successful petition that pressured Robert Gordon University to revoke its honorary degree awarded to Trump.