(BrightPress.org) – A congressional testimony regarding proposed changes to Title IX that would legally require transgender “women” to be allowed to compete in women’s sports got fiery on Tuesday, December 5th. The rule change would strip funding from any organization that chooses to prohibit biological men from competing as women due to their “gender identity.” These include all public schools, K-12, institutions of higher learning, as well as other institutions that receive federal funding.
The comments between former college swimmer Riley Gaines and Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) drifted into personal attacks, causing Lee to attempt to have Gaines’ words struck from the record.
Lee’s opening remarks attempted to preemptively slander the witnesses by suggesting her testimony would be filled with “hateful misinformation” and transphobia. Gaines added a line to the end of her opening remarks suggesting that if she was transphobic, then Lee was a misogynist.
Lee then attempted to have the remarks struck from the record before withdrawing her request after whispered consultations with congressional staff. Gaines pointed out that Lee had attempted to characterize herself and other witnesses as transphobic during this hushed conversation, to which Lee responded that she didn’t suggest that she was transphobic, but rather that her remarks would be.
Gaines and her fellow witnesses spoke to the dangers of including men who identify as women in female sports and spaces. They pointed out that natural women will be harmed by the loss of educational opportunities, scholarships, and locker room privacy if schools and organizations are compelled to include individuals who were not born female in women’s athletics. They also spoke to the threat of physical harm from being injured by a person who is significantly bigger and stronger during a sporting event.
Gaines pointed out that in September 2022, Payton McNabb suffered a traumatic brain injury after a trans “woman” spiked a volleyball that slammed McNabb in the head. She continues to struggle with the consequences of that injury to this day, Gaines said. She pointed out that the injury prevented her from playing sports.
Proponents of the rule change argued that it was “transphobic” and “bigoted” to exclude these individuals from women’s sports.
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