On Friday, supermajorities in the Utah house and senate voted to override Gov. Cox’s veto of H.B. 11. The new Student Eligibility in Interscholastic Activities law, which will take effect on July 1, 2022, will protect girls who compete in school athletics from being forced to compete — and share locker facilities — with boys who suffer from gender dysphoria.
The newly passed law:
imposes limits on participation in female sports, by:
- requiring schools and local education agencies to designate athletic activities by sex;
- prohibiting a student of the male sex from competing against another school on a team designated for female students; (emphasis added)
This is worth noting, because it demonstrates that the law is designed to preserve fair competition in girls’ sports for use by actual girls. It doesn’t mention anything about preventing biological girls from competing against boys, because that doesn’t give them an unfair advantage — unlike their male counterparts who compete against naturally smaller, weaker females.
As Rep. Kera Birkeland, the bill’s sponsor, said, the new law is “purely” about “preserving women’s sports.” “When we don’t act and we just go with the status quo, we just do more harm to both transgender youth and women athletes.”
Nonetheless, the predictable wailing and gnashing of teeth erupted immediately.
ACLU of Utah issued a statement:
“We are deeply disappointed and saddened at today’s votes by the Utah Legislature to discriminate against transgender youth to exclude them from participating fully in sports.
Litigation to stop H.B. 11 from taking effect is now both necessary and inevitable to ensure Constitutional promises of equal protection for all Utahns.”
-ACLU of Utah
With the inevitable, well-funded lawsuits designed to overturn the will of Utah voters in mind, the state legislature also used Friday’s special session to send Gov. Cox a companion bill. H.B. 3001 “indemnifies school districts and the activities association from lawsuits associated with HB11. The bill included a one-time appropriation of $500,000 from the Utah attorney general’s budget for litigation costs,” reports Deseret News.
In reaction to the veto override, Democrat mayor of Salt Lake City Erin Mendenhall tweeted on Friday,
Is this who we are as a state? I’m at a loss. This is decidedly not “The Utah Way” and I’m ashamed at the way some of our state’s leaders are playing politics with children’s lives.
To Utah’s transgender kids: I’m sorry this is happening to you and some of our leaders seem intent on going out of their way to persecute and punish you just for being who you are. They do not speak for all of us. You are perfect as you are. You are loved. I stand with you.
It’s incredible how people who claim to be compassionate only show concern for the few children who’ve been sucked into the transgender craze, while they completely ignore the plight of countless young women whose hard work, athleticism, educational prospects, and modesty are sacrificed to the damaging movement. Let alone the countless children who, for religious or personal reasons, are horrified by the transgender crusade but are terrified to say anything.
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Protesters also trotted out the pernicious tactic of threatening anyone who refuses to “affirm” a person’s new gender choice with blame for the re-gendered person’s potential suicide.
Hannah Demke, a high school student from Sandy, pointed to Cox’s veto letter, in which he wrote that only one transgender student currently participates in girls sports, yet 86% of trans youth have reported suicidal thoughts and 56% of trans youth have attempted suicide.
“I can’t imagine the pressure on her of having the entire Legislature against you at such a young age, just because you want to feel comfortable,” Demke said.
Perhaps this is something that parents, therapists, and doctors might consider before heaping something so radical onto an emotionally struggling child’s shoulders.
A man named Mike, who declined to give his last name and said he was a former bishop for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from Bountiful, said he showed up to support trans rights because of the high suicide rate among transgender youth and LGBTQ youth in general.
“The reason they’re committing suicide is because they’re being persecuted by people who don’t want them to be able to participate in society with everyone else who is scared of them for no good reason. Rather than being scared, they should just remember that perfect love casts out all fears,” he said.
Remember, folks: if you refuse to pretend that Jenny has turned into Jimmy, “HE” WILL KILL HIMSELF AND IT WILL BE ALL YOUR FAULT!!!
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