Riley Gaines vs. Biden: Stop Destroying Girls Sports!
The Biden administration openly twisted Title IX - something that was supposed to protect women – into a tool to force extreme transgender ideology into our schools. This sweeping action by President Biden will impact every public school in the nation that receives federal funding and will dictate what they can do regarding transgender issues.
This will impact whether our young girls can expect privacy when they are in the bathroom, in their locker rooms, or a dorm room. It opens the door for compelled speech, creating an environment where our students and teachers no longer have religious freedom to follow their deeply held religious convictions. It also takes a huge step forward in erasing protection for female sports.
When people express fears about the “deep state,” they are referring to the the frightening trend of policy being enforced by unelected agency administrators, not the elected officials we the people chose. Exacerbating that trend, the President has used the rulemaking process—rather than working through Congress—in an attempt to unilaterally change the entire scope of how public schools will handle issues of transgenderism within their district; forcing a radical ideology down into every school from K-12 to college, and targeting every community.
For decades, Title IX has been viewed as a mechanism for ensuring women are not discriminated against by sex, especially when it comes the competitive athletic opportunities. By arbitrarily redefining the mean of “sex” to include “gender identity,” any many who identifies as a woman will now have access to women’s dorms, athletic programs, scholarships, locker rooms and bathrooms.
While the media is hailing President Biden as a hero who's protecting transgender students, the reality is Title IX has been twisted into a tool for bullying schools: Any taxpayer-funded school can face the loss of federal funds for reserving women’s restrooms for biological girls. This will also affect universities and the scholarships that they can give students. There are even some private schools that benefit from federal grants and scholarship programs at the elementary and secondary levels that are now impacted. It can even impact federally funded lunch programs for impoverished kids in K-12 schools.
Many states have taken legal measures to protect girls’ sports. Some are even being dragged to court over it. With Biden’s recent actions, this issue will undoubtedly find itself almost immediately in court, especially as it clashes with many state laws. Despite the bleak landscape we see now, it’s important to remember that this regulation could be overturned by the courts.
OTHER UPDATES: On our own turf, we’re continuing to watch the ongoing game of chicken between Gov. Youngkin and our leftist-controlled legislature. The Left has rejected all his amendments on key parental rights and religious freedom bills. Additionally, neighborhood slot machines remain a hot issue this General Assembly session. The Governor added amendments that would not allow slot machines within a 35-mile radius of casinos, other forms of gambling, and away from schools and churches. Hundreds of convenience stores responded with protests by closing, including refusing to sell lottery tickets.
We’ve heard dire predictions that the Commonwealth is going to fall apart if convenience stores aren’t allowed to have slot machines. But isn’t there a bigger economic problem if convenience stores truly can’t stay in business without gambling machines? Our economy cannot thrive if it is founded on the exploitation of society’s most vulnerable people.
Not surprisingly, the General Assembly rejected the Governor's common-sense amendments during Veto Day in April. Now the bill as originally passed goes back to his desk for him to decide whether to veto or sign it.
Although Gov. Youngkin tried to honor some of the General Assembly’s priorities, offering a compromise, the majority party simply rejected all the tax cuts, while continuing to demand increases. In the battle over the budget, there must be resolution before the fiscal year ends (end of June). If not, Virginia’s government could shuts down. It would be wise for conservatives to point out that the leftists in the General Assembly are trying to shut it down over tax increases.
We need to encourage the Governor to stay strong on not raising taxes and to veto the slot machines since his common-sense amendments were rejected. He needs to hear from Virginia families that we cannot build an economy for Virginia by preying on the weak and vulnerable to fill the coffers of the state.