hate crime legislation. The SNP minister said he wants the plans to become a "force for good" and pledged to "reflect on whether there needs to be changes made and how these could be done in an appropriate and effective way".
His comments at Holyrood follow a major backlash to the proposals from lawyers, police, the Catholic Church who are all concerned about the impact of the Scottish Government's Hate Crime and Public Order Bill.
A feared limit of freedom of expression also provoked protest from well known figures including Mr Bean star Rowan Atkinson, crime writer Val McDermid, actress Elaine C Smith and playwright Alan Bissett.
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