Riley Gaines, State Attorneys General Discuss Suing Biden Administration Over Title IX Changes
The Biden administration recently announced significant changes to Title IX that have created severe criticism for the regulations around gender and gender identity.
Title IX was ostensibly supposed to create protections for women by enshrining differences between males and females into law. But as progressive ideologues attempt to erode those gains thanks to the beliefs of transgender activists, President Biden's handlers have worked to enshrine those delusions into law by purposefully ignoring science and common sense.
Their new regulations essentially ignore biological sex, prioritizing "gender identity." Essentially, anyone who says they identify as a woman will be allowed to use women's locker rooms or other private spaces, as well as compete for opportunities targeted to women.
Thankfully, some politicians and prominent individuals are working to combat this absurd denial of reality and common sense.
Including the Attorneys General of Tennessee and West Virginia, as well as OutKick's Riley Gaines. The three held a joint press conference on Tuesday to explain a legal challenge launched against Biden's overreach, what they believe is a common sense issue, the opportunities stolen from women, and how these new rules could prove dangerous.
ATLANTA - University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas and Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines react after finishing tied for 5th in the 200 Freestyle finals at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 18, 2022 at the McAuley Aquatic Center. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
State Attorney Generals Launching Legal Challenge To Biden's Title IX Changes
The Attorney General of Tennessee, Jonathan Skrmetti, told the media that his and the six other states are challenging Biden's changes, hoping the courts enjoin and ultimately set them aside for being unconstitutional.
According to Skrmetti, Title IX rules have long been understood to mean the same thing to everyone. "The universal understanding was that when congress prohibited sex discrimination, it meant sex discrimination," Skrmetti said. "Gender identity is not consistent with the text of the statute."
He explained that these changes are also likely unconstitutional on procedural grounds; Congress writes laws, and federal agencies are not able to overwrite those laws. The Department of Education making sweeping overhauls is an attempt to subvert the separation of powers, which they intend to challenge.
General Skrmetti also said how easily these new rules could be exploited to punish girls just for speaking out about their own safety and well being. If, for example, a "boy walks into a girls locker room and the girl says that makes her uncomfortable, that girl could be liable for a civil rights violation," he said.
Patrick Morrissey, the Attorney General of West Virginia, is another party to the lawsuit. He said that Biden and the DOE are "trying to turn the law on its head to implement radical goals." And they're using the threat of losing out on "massive" amounts of federal funding to do so.
To Morrissey, the decision has harmful implications for society at large, beyond just the specific educational settings."It involves the future of our society if you can’t protect women’s safe spaces and privacy," he explained. Using gender identity as a replacement for sex "treats women as second-class citizens."
Riley Gaines Supporting Title IX Lawsuit
Gaines told the press about how these new rules, effectively requiring schools to accept whatever males say about their gender identity, opens up women's sports and locker rooms to even further intrusion. She said her opposition to this type of policy started when she was forced to change in front of a "6'4, fully intact male," when she "was not asked for our consent, and did not give our consent."
According to a tracker that Gaines referenced, 943 medals, trophies and titles have been "stolen" from girls by male competitors. Beyond undermining competitive fairness, the new rules are also dangerous. "Allowing males to play women’s sports increases the likelihood and severity of injuries," Gaines said. "It’s discriminatory and regressive and it must stop."
The three also explained how easily these rules can be exploited, far beyond anything DOE expects.
"Any male can walk into any female space with impunity because you’re not allowed to question gender identity," Skrmetti said. General Morrissey said how far that could be taken under new regulations: "Even questioning someone’s gender identity could constitute illegal sexual harassment."
As we've seen, all too often there are unfortunate consequences for those who dare stand up for common sense and competitive fairness.
READ: Middle School Girl Who Protested Transgender Competitor Speaks Out: 'It's Not Right'
But as Gaines explained, those fighting back are "Standing for something." In this case, "Standing for privacy, common sense, science, and reality," she said. Truer words have never been spoken.