In October 2007, the Government announced that it would seek to introduce an amendment to the "Criminal Justice and Immigration Act" to create a new offence of incitement to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation. This followed the creation of an offence on religious hatred that had proved controversial in 2006 (see "Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006"). Incitement to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation was already illegal in Northern Ireland. Scotland enacted similar legislation in 2009, which also includes gender identity as a protected ground.