WHAT’S NEW?
Riley Gaines joined us at a Minnesota Capitol rally for girls sports this week!
Gaines is a 12-time NCAA All-American swimmer and perhaps the nation’s leading girls' sports advocate. On Monday, the Minnesota House debated the Preserving Girls Sports Act, and Gaines traveled here to share her support.
LEGISLATIVE NEWS
The Preserving Girls Sports Act would help maintain fairness and safety in girls’ athletics by prohibiting boys from playing in girls’ sports in Minnesota.
Title IX gives women athletes the right to equal opportunity to compete in athletics, and allowing biological males to compete in girls’ sports destroys that opportunity.”
The bill specifically states that only students of the female sex may participate in an elementary or secondary school athletic team or sport that an educational institution has restricted on the basis of sex to women or girls. If there is a dispute, a student must present a signed physician’s statement indicating the student’s sex is based solely on the student’s internal and external anatomy, natural occurring level of testosterone, and an analysis of the student’s chromosomes.
Minnesota State High School League record books find significant differences between top scores in the boys and girls divisions, such as an 11-foot difference in the shot put and a 32 second difference in the swimming 500-yard freestyle.
There have been numerous examples across the country where girls have had teeth knocked out or suffered other injuries at the hands of biological boys playing in a girls’ sporting event.
It’s not controversial to say boys and girls are born differently. This is why we have boys and girls divisions in sports. Knowing a number of female athletes locally, I understand the amount of dedication it takes to earn a spot on a team, make a state tournament, or be rewarded with a sports scholarship. It is senseless to allow biological males to participate in girls’ sports and potentially trample these dreams.
Believe it or not, all Republicans voted in favor of the bill, and every House Democrat voted against it. Because not one reasonable Democrat could vote yes, the measure failed by one vote. Some procedural motions were made after the vote, so the bill could be revisited by the House in the weeks ahead.
TACKLING FRAUD
This week, the Minnesota House Children and Families Finance and Policy Committee approved House File 1, which would create an Independent Office of the Inspector General to reign in the rampant fraud and misuse of taxpayer dollars by the state government.
To date, Minnesota has had $610 million – that we know about – stolen from taxpayers thanks to fraud occurring in Governor Walz’s agencies. If state lawmakers are serious about protecting taxpayers and ending the rampant fraud in this state, they will support this bill when it arrives on the House floor.
LOCAL VISITORS
I was pleased to meet with visitors from Red Wing this week who support the arts!
