There has been a struggle going on over next door and I believe we can help. The people of Idaho have been struggling to preserve the opportunity for their girls to compete in sports.
Last month, Gov. Brad Little of our neighbor state, Idaho, signed legislation declaring opportunities intended for girls to compete in High School sports, which provides access to scholarships for college, should remain open only for biological girls.
Sponsored by female legislators, Rep. Barbara Ehardt (R-Idaho Falls) and Sen. Mary Souza (R-Coeur d’Alene), the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act would end recent policies forcing girls to compete against biological boys in girls’ sports if the boys receive cross-sex hormones for one year.
Most Americans believe that boys should not play in girls’ high school and college sports—a common-sense approach that was legally buttressed with the advent of Title IX in 1972. Yet that which was once unthinkable is becoming an increasingly common occurrence in school sports around the country. It has gotten so bad that three female high school track runners in Connecticut have sued their state athletic organization because several boys, who say they’re girls, keep winning girl championships, breaking records of girls, and taking opportunities from hardworking girls.
The two sexes have physiological, psychological, and anatomical differences, some of which are self-evident even to the casual observer and some which can only be seen through a microscope. Remarkably, even though both sexes share many of the same genes, some of those genes function differently in men and women.
Because it is a scientific fact that biological sex is immutable and there are measurable differences between male and female, it is sometimes appropriate for governments to implement policies that recognize these differences—for example, sex-segregated bathrooms, sex-specific public health guidelines or sex-specific athletic teams.
The Fairness in Women’s Sports Act recognizes the common-sense truth that boys should not play on girls’ teams. That girls should not be deprived of athletic opportunities, victories, and scholarships because they were forced to compete against boys.
Ask any student athlete, high school coach, or parent—allowing biological men to perform in women’s sports unfairly puts women and girls at a competitive disadvantage. The size, strength, bone structure, lung volume, and heart supply of the average male far outpaces most elite female athletes, even after the biological male undergoes hormone therapy.
This legislation doesn’t exclude anyone from sports. Instead, it simply requires that boys compete with boys and girls compete with girls—and that’s something we all should agree on.
Family Policy Alliance® was on the front lines in Idaho—sharing information with legislators, informing the public, and mobilizing concerned citizens. Now, The ACLU and others are threatening Idaho because of their stand for their girls.
Over the years, I’ve noticed that legislative precedent in the Rocky Mountain West influences the State of Wyoming. In Wyoming, we share a long border with Idaho. Many have family there or travel back and forth between the two states. I am asking you to reach out and support Gov. Little for his stand. Call your neighbors in Idaho and let them know that Wyoming supports them in their struggle to protect opportunities for their girls. A stand in support of our neighbors is a stand for Wyoming as well.
Sincerely,
Nathan Winters
Executive Director
