No one is playing sports right now -- but when they do, Idaho is making sure the competitions are fair. Turns out, even the full weight of Nike (the athletic shoe company that benefits from the forced labor in China) couldn't convince the state legislature to turn the entire state of athletics on its head to please a handful of transgender activists. If the fringe wants to destroy women's sports, the message from Idaho is clear: try somewhere else.
Not even the coronavirus could stop the business in Boise. Republican leaders had been fighting to save girls' teams for weeks, and they weren't about to quit. That determination paid off Monday night, when the state senate finally put the bill over the finish line. By a 24-11 vote, Idaho became the first state in America to send a Fairness in Women's Sports Act through the whole legislature.
State Rep. Barbara Ehardt (R), the lead sponsor, fired back at critics like the ACLU who insisted the measure was "mean-spirited." This bill, she argued, doesn't "exclude anyone. It's to make sure there's a place for everyone." In an op-ed for the local paper, she reminds the far-Left that her act "doesn't keep anyone from being who they want to be... A boy may believe [he's] a girl, and [he] can identify as such, but that belief doesn't cancel out all of [his] physical advantages." She, like a lot of Gem State leaders, just wants to make sure there's a level playing field like they had growing up.
"Pretending that girls and boys are physically identical is naïve, and an influx of hormones doesn't change the facts. I want to make sure the girls in this state don't lose their roster spot to a young man who already has a spot on the boys' team." In the end, most legislators agreed -- sending HB 500 to the desk of Governor Brad Little (R), where he can make history signing it into law.
The votes had to come as a massive blow to Nike, who's been crisscrossing the country to kill women's sports. In Idaho, the company even sent one of its transgender-identifying athletes to testify against the bill. Ultimately, her objections -- that this legislation is a solution to a problem that doesn't exist -- fell on deaf ears. Too many parents have watched the fallout from states like Connecticut, where girls have missed out on scholarships and other opportunities because the government let biological boys steal their trophies.
Hopefully, Governor Little will side with the overwhelming number of Americans who think women's sports shouldn't be the next casualty of a culture catering to the .6 percent. If you live in Idaho, call his office (208-334-2100) and urge him to give girls the equality they spent the last 50 years fighting for.
For the latest on this issue, visit SaveWomensSports.com and see what legislation may be moving in your state.
