The controversy over transgender athletes is continuing to draw attention this week as lawmakers in Ohio and other states consider bills to address the issue.
And with three girl athletes currently suing in Connecticut to defend their right to a fair playing field, it is a topic likely to stay in the spotlight for some time. From the beginning, American Principles Project has been on the front lines of the issue, helping inject it into the national debate through last fall’s political campaign in Kentucky.
Writing in the Washington Examiner Tuesday in response to the lawsuit, APP’s executive director Terry Schilling slammed Democrats for their hypocritical attack on women’s sports and called on Republicans to stand with women athletes, both in Connecticut and nationwide:
Thus, it has fallen to three young women in Connecticut to courageously stand up for their right to compete with other young women on a fair playing field — a right which should have been guaranteed long ago. Indeed, it is highly ironic that as Democrats push to pass the outdated and merely symbolic “Equal Rights Amendment,” they are ignoring the real threat to equal rights for women that their own actions present — the effort to systematically deny opportunities and protections for women in order to put biological males on a pedestal.
If Democrats will not protect opportunities for women athletes, Republicans should. Thankfully, many are already taking steps to do so. Shortly after his election to the White House, President Trump rescinded the controversial Obama guidance, making it clear that the federal government would not penalize schools for upholding fairness in athletics or private spaces for girls. And in a number of states this year, GOP lawmakers have introduced legislation to mandate that biological sex, not subjective “gender identity,” be the basis for qualifying to compete in girl’s sports.
The battle is only just beginning. With the 2020 elections approaching, and with nearly every Democrat in the presidential field demanding that “gender identity” supercede “sex” in civil rights law, it is important that supporters of equal opportunity for women make their voices heard. For the sake of future generations of U.S. girls, we cannot let these brave athletes in Connecticut stand alone.
You can read Terry Schilling’s entire op-ed here.
