Gov. Sanders’ Powerful Speech Defending Girls’ Sports: ‘We Will Not Comply’

by Zachary Mettler | May 3, 2024 | Government Updates

Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed an executive order on Thursday protecting Arkansas students, especially women and girls. In announcing the order, she became the first female governor in the nation to refuse to comply with the Biden administration’s rewrite of Title IX.

Title IX was enacted as a part of the Education Amendments of 1972 to provide equal opportunities for girls and women in education.

But on Friday, April 19, the Biden administration through the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) released a new rule that includes “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as protected classes under Title IX. In effect, this guts what Title IX was originally intended to do, because it permits men to freely access women’s locker rooms, bathrooms and sports.

So far, multiple states have refused to comply with the Title IX changes, filed a lawsuit against the DOE to stop the changes, or taken both of those actions, including: Oklahoma, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Louisiana, Montana, Idaho, Texas, Tennessee, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Virginia.

They were entirely right to do so. Now Arkansas joins that list.

Gov. Sanders’ executive order is a powerful defense of biological reality and women. The governor asserted through the executive order:

  1. It is declared to be the policy of this state that sex is an immutable characteristic of the human body, rooted in biology and the created order. The government should celebrate, not erase, sex differences by providing proper protections for them.
  2. The educational institutions of Arkansas will continue to enforce state law guaranteeing the right of students to maintain their privacy. Students must not be forced to shower or undress with members of the opposite sex.
  3. Female students must not be denied equal athletic opportunities or forced to risk their safety by having biological males placed into female-designated sports leagues.
  4. Students and employees of Arkansas’ educational institutions may not be forced to use false pronouns. The right to refuse to speak a lie is guaranteed in the First Amendment. My administration will continue to protect this fundamental right.

Gov. Sanders announced the order next to women’s rights activist Riley Gaines and spoke up forcefully for female sex-segregated spaces and athletics. You can watch a portion of her speech below:

After the press conference, Riley Gaines posted on X lauding Gov. Sanders for her decisive action.

It’s very encouraging to see many states boldly join together to reject the DOE’s pernicious changes to Title IX. As Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters said, the rewrite of Title IX is “one of the most illegal and radical moves we have ever seen from the Federal Government.”

Indeed, if the changes to Title IX are not reverse, it will end women’s and girls’ sports as we know it, permit men to access women’s locker rooms and bathrooms, and give men opportunities and scholarships that rightfully belong to women.

Additionally, the rule is ultimately an assault on the reality of how God made human beings in His likeness – male and female.

Please pray that the new Title IX rule will be defeated, and consider getting involved by letting your representative know you oppose the Department of Education’s Final Rule under Title IX and encouraging them to hold the DOE accountable.

Related articles and resources:

Back to School for Parents

Counseling Consultation & Referrals

Transgender Resources

Middle School Girls Who Protested ‘Trans’ Athlete Are Banned From Future Competition

Title IX Redefinition of ‘Sex’ Faces Defiance and a Flood of Lawsuits

Florida and Oklahoma Reject Biden Admin’s Rule Letting Men into Women’s Bathrooms and Sports

NAIA Bans Males From Competing in Women’s Sports

Where Are the Dads Protecting Their Daughters From Dangerous Male Athletes?

Photo from Getty Images.

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