You're definitely right that JK Rowling has given the country a bad name, but she is also a reflection of a growing movement/backlash to trans rights that has taken root in the country pretty strongly, based on everything I've heard and read from trans activists there. That said, we have huge pockets of this stuff in the United States as well, lots of anti trans legislation is popping up particularly in conservative states. As tolerance for us becomes more popular, the people opposed are getting more organized and vitriolic, I guess.