I HAVE shed a tear or more in the darkness of the cinema, at home in front of the small screen, and whilst out in our beautiful nature. But yesterday after a wait of more than 50 years I felt a tear fall as I witnessed the result of a vote in Holyrood.

A huge thank you for John Finnie for bringing this private member’s bill and all from across the parties who worked on it. After 53 years since Sweden became the first country to give children the equal protection from assault under the law as adults, Scotland has led the way for the rest of the UK.

READ MORE: Scotland becomes first country in the UK to ban smacking

The so-called banning smacking law has been adopted in almost 60 countries and evidence shows it does not lead to a huge increase of parents in court. It changes the culture of how we view violence, to understand that it is harmful and ineffective.

Wales is to follow soon and we can only hope the next Westminster government will make the whole of the UK that much safer for children.

READ MORE: Andrew Tickell: This is why I’m uneasy about Holyrood’s ‘ban on smacking’

This is a historic day for child welfare. As in other countries, our government will be sensitive to help parents and carers in a programme of support and help in the build-up to the introduction of this law.

We can be proud of our precious parliament.

Tony Martin
Gullane

WHEN Lesley Riddoch (October 3) criticises Boris Johnson for once saying wind turbines couldn’t “take the skin off a rice pudding”, doesn’t her implied blanket support of turbines betray a lack of understanding about these behemoths?

Wind turbines are not benign power generation benefactors. They have consequences. And serious ones for those whose environment they’re thrust upon.

READ MORE: Lesley Riddoch: Johnson’s day of sham politics was a naked piece of electioneering

The proposed scheme for Shetland will mean disturbing the centuries-old peat bog carbon sink. But who cares? It may be a box ticked for government climate-change policy, but excessive carbon release from this scheme back into our atmosphere by the back door to satisfy political expediency? Who’s being daft here?

This project has been allowed to progress without even the safety net of a public inquiry into the environmental and community impact it will have. How can this possibly be right?

Doesn’t government have a responsibility for communities?

Even accounting for the known heritage diversity of Shetlanders, does the Scottish Government have such blatant disregard for these people to deny them their fundamental right to full public scrutiny of a project that threatens their natural heritage?

Why has the Scottish Government refused Shetlanders their right to a full public inquiry about the massive wind farm being inflicted on them, by the Scottish Government itself?

Are Shetlanders somehow second-class Scots?

Jim Taylor
Edinburgh

I’M 2013 my UK passport ran out. Looking forward to 2014’s indyref I declined to renew it, in favour of holding out for a Scottish one.

When we voted No I began to think about claiming my Irish heritage and an Irish passport with it. But I held back, feeling it was a kind of betrayal. An acceptance that Scotland wouldn’t be independent.

More recently, Brexit and borders have thrust nationality back into the limelight. Namely that since the Good Friday Agreement folk living in the North of Ireland can be British, Irish or both.

Right now, with my Irish grandfather, I could have an Irish passport, or a British one, and possibly both. But I can’t have a Scottish one!

Getting a Scottish passport may not be possible right now, but how about a Scots ID card? Europeans have that document available to them. We could become independent, that is certainly possible, and if we did the British passports would still be valid, but many would seek to ditch them for a Scottish one. A problem avoided by an ID card for Scots.

Just having such a document would make me feel like I could hold my head up as a proud Scot, not need an Irish passport, and not feel forced to be British.

A’m sure mony mair are like me.

Brian Kelly
Dunfermline

THE Tories in Scotland (there is no longer a Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party in Scotland) are now telling us that all that Scottish Saltire waving is getting to them! They are going to make sure the Union Jack is seen! So now we know: the recent and partly successful campaign to put Union Jack labels on our Scottish-produced food is really a Tory plot.

We always thought it was political and we also always knew, they hated that Saltire of ours! Now it is out in the open and all the efforts of Ruth Watson and Scotland the Brand can now be seen as actually a fight against a Tory plot, while Ruth has consistently fought to keep party politics out of her massive efforts! Time to support her even more!

Harry Bickerstaff
St Cyrus, Aberdeenshire