Perhaps just a little bit of common sense is breaking out in Washington, D.C.? On Thursday, Representatives Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) and Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) introduced legislation that would limit participation in women’s sports to biological females.
The “Protect Women’s Sports Act” would outlaw males who are “transitioning” to female from competing in sports against biological females and recognizes the inherent biological distinction between males and females. The bill seeks to restore the original intent of Title IX, which sought to offer equal opportunity for women and girls to compete in high school and college athletics.
Gabbard explained in a press release: “Title IX was a historic provision championed by Hawaii’s own Patsy Mink in order to provide equal opportunity for women and girls in high school and college sports. It led to a generational shift that impacted countless women, creating life changing opportunities for girls and women that never existed before.”
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“However, Title IX is being weakened by some states who are misinterpreting Title IX, creating uncertainty, undue hardship and lost opportunities for female athletes. Our legislation protects Title IX’s original intent which was based on the general biological distinction between men and women athletes based on sex,” Gabbard said.
Mullin echoed Gabbard’s common sense take on the issue: “Title IX was designed to give women and girls an equal chance to succeed, including in sports. Allowing biological males to compete in women’s sports diminishes that equality and takes away from the original intent of Title IX.”
“As the father of three girls involved in athletics, I want them to be able to compete on a level playing field. I am proud to lead this bill that will safeguard the integrity of women’s sports and ensure female athletes can compete fairly,” Mullin said.
If enacted, the legislation would withhold federal funding from any school that allows “a person whose biological sex at birth is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls.”
Angry leftists and “trans rights activists” were quick to respond to the proposed legislation, referring to it as “bigoted” and “blatantly transphobic.” Most of the vitriol was aimed at Gabbard, who has said in the past that she is an ally of the LGBTQ community.
“Tulsi Gabbard is now introducing a blatantly transphobic piece of legislation aimed at trans and non-binary young people,” tweeted trans-activist Charlotte Clymer.
“Remember when Tulsi Gabbard tried to convince us she was an LGBTQ ally? We knew she was a liar, a fraud,” wrote Zeke Stokes, a former chief programs officer for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).
Perhaps the most stinging rebuke to Gabbard came from Delaware State Senator Sarah McBride, who tweeted, “Tulsi Gabbard: assigned Republican at birth.”
The bill is similar to legislation introduced in the Senate in September. The “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act” would also prohibit federal funds to any school that allowed biological males to compete against bio females in sports. That bill’s lead sponsor is Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.), who is now engaged in a run-off election against Democrat Raphael Warnock.
“Title IX established a fair and equal chance for women and girls to compete, and sports should be no exception,” Loeffler said. “This common sense bill protects women and girls by safeguarding fairness and leveling the athletic field that Title IX guarantees.”
Loeffler’s legislation is cosponsored by Senators Mike Lee of Utah, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, James Lankford of Oklahoma, and Tom Cotton of Arkansas — all Republicans. The House bill’s bipartisan sponsorship sets it apart.
This is not the first time Gabbard has run afoul of the LGBTQ lobby. In early 2019, she felt the need to apologize for actively lobbying against gay marriage until 2004 — a position that, at that time, was held by almost every mainstream Democrat, including Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Barack Obama.
At the beginning of Gabbard’s failed run for the Democrat nomination, she announced that she would not seek reelection in 2020. It’s too bad because the party could use someone with a little bit of restraint as it gets pulled further and further leftward.
