A law backed by Strictly champion Rose Ayling-Ellis to give legal recognition to British Sign Language was supported by MP’s today (Friday, January 28).
Rose has been urging her followers to back the bill over the last few days on her Instagram.
BSL law backed
MPs have shown their support for a proposal to give British Sign Language (BSL) legal recognition.
Rosie Cooper, a Labour MP, who put forward the bill, said that making BSL a recognised language would send a clear message to deaf people in the UK.
Read more: Strictly stars Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice dealt blow on tour
She said the bill will show the deaf community that “their language is equal and should be treated as equal”.
BSL was recognised as a language in its own right back in 2003. However, it still has no legal protection, almost 20 years later.
The bill will now be receiving further scrutiny in parliament at another date.
Rose Ayling-Ellis shows her support on Instagram
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Rose, who is the first deaf person to compete on Strictly, has been a staunch supporter of the bill.
The 27-year-old uses BSL herself and has been showing her support for the bill via her Instagram recently.
Earlier this week, the EastEnders actress posted a video of herself and her female Strictly tour castmates showing their support for the bill.
In the video, Rose, along with the likes of Tilly Ramsay, Maisie Smith, and Nadiya Bychkova perform BSL.
“BSL needs to be legally recognised as a language,” they all say.
“On Friday the Parliament will be debating whether or not to make BSL a legally recognised language. Let make this happen!” Rose captioned the post, before adding #signthebill at the end of her post.
Rose Ayling-Ellis on Instagram today
In the lead-up to the bill being discussed in parliament, Rose was showing her support via her Instagram story.
In a video the star uploaded this morning, Rose can be seen signing at a young age.
“Today is a big day for the deaf community, BSL is a language and very important part of my life,” she wrote. “It made me who I am.”
In another story, the star uploaded pictures of people outside the Houses of Parliament showing their support for the bill.
Read more: Giovanni Pernice and Rose Ayling-Ellis praised for Strictly tour win despite backlash
She also posted a video of Ms Cooper speaking in Parliament.
Following news that MPs would be supporting the bill, Rose posted a picture of Ms Cooper on her story, thanking her.
“The second reading passed!!” she wrote. “But it is still not over yet, the third reading will happen on March 18th.
“Today we have given the deaf community a sense of hope, which we hadn’t felt for a long time. Thank you Rosie Cooper.”
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