Democratic lawmakers in Washington, D.C., last week pushed back against the Republican-led Women and Girls in Sports Act with baseless claims that the law would allow sex offenders to perform genital examinations on young girls.
That argument is not rooted in any of the bill's language, as Republicans have argued that genital exams were never needed and that proof of birth sex can be easily determined from a birth certificate.
Still, many prominent Democrats, including House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (DN.Y.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.), have made statements and testimony on the House floor. used the sexual predator argument in .
This tactic alienated some of the party's loyal voters, who accordingly deregistered themselves as Democrats.
Distinguished law professor Gary Francione has been a lifelong Democrat since the 1960s. In November, he voted for Kamala Harris and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pennsylvania), one of 206 Democrats who voted against the bill last Tuesday.
But Francione, who is an advocate for LGBTQ rights and abortion rights, as well as a vegan and animal rights abolitionist, has been criticized by Democratic lawmakers who tried to link the bill to empowering child predators. He was so angry that he deregistered himself as a Democrat after last Tuesday's hearing.
“It was very upsetting because it screamed a lack of integrity, a lack of integrity,” Francione said in an exclusive interview with FOX News Digital. “Is this how you fight? To insult other people who disagree with you and don't agree with you and try to imply that they are child molesters or pedophiles? To me, you are It feels like we lost the game…I don't know how they're going to recover from this.”
Francione said he has a lifelong network of other Democrats in the law and other industries, many of whom share his beliefs, and also plans to deregister from the party. are.
“I can say with confidence that the people I know who are Democrats that I've talked to, the majority of them are very dissatisfied with all of this and feel that the party has lost its way,” Francione said. “I'm working on it,” he said. “I know a couple who said they would. [unregister]”
Francione initially announced his departure from the party in a post that went viral online over the weekend. Many of his thousands of supporters vowed to follow his lead and deregister from the party in response to attempts by members of Congress to link the bill to empowering sex offenders.
“This is what I did. That's when I drew the line and replaced the registration,” one user responded.
“I know the feeling. They push you there. Welcome to the club,” wrote another.
Francione believes the premise of allowing transgender athletes to compete against women is “discriminatory” against girls and women, calling Democratic arguments for the bill “insane” and “irresponsible.” He even said that.
“I thought this was very unfair to a lot of very decent people who are concerned about fairness and safety in women's sports,” he said. “These young girls are training hard and working hard, but men are taking something away from them!”
Even former U.S. Olympic cyclist Inga Thompson said in a recent interview that despite being a lifelong Democrat herself, President-elect Donald Trump's stance on protecting women and girls in sports has led to He admitted that he is looking forward to his appointment.
Several Democratic members of Congress have chosen to refer to the Protecting Women and Girls in Sports Act as the “House Republican Child Predator Empowerment Act.” Those include Jeffries, Ocasio-Cortez, and Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Vermont. Rep. Suzanne Bonamik, D-Fla., and Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Florida. Rep. Whip Clark, D-Mass. And many of the other 206 Democrats also voted against the bill.
During the debate, Ocasio-Cortez dismissed the fact that there is no language in the bill suggesting that all children would be subject to genital examinations.
“Right now, the majority says there is nothing in this bill that opens up genital examinations. Now, the problem is, there is no enforcement mechanism in this bill. And if there is no enforcement mechanism. , which opens the door to all enforcement mechanisms,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
Ocasio-Cortez later declared, “Transgender girls are girls!”
However, many Democrats who opposed the bill did not want to even advocate for transgender athletes' right to participate in women's sports, since allowing transgender inclusion became a widely unpopular position in November's election. The law was strongly opposed based on the baseless premise that it would empower sex offenders.
Representative Seth Moulton, Democrat of Massachusetts, was among those who took such a position. Moulton has previously said he believes Democrats' push for transgender inclusion was an issue that cost them money in November, and in the weeks following President Donald Trump's victory and the Republican Party's victory, his own party and state Despite public backlash, he repeatedly defended his position against transgender inclusion. Majority in the House and Senate.
Only two Democrats joined the Republican majority in voting for the bill: Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) and Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas). Recent data shows that their decision to break away from the rest of the party and vote for the protection of women and girls in sport reflects the broader position of many voters and independents within the party. It is said that there is.
A recent New York Times/Ipsos poll found that a majority of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, don't think transgender athletes should be allowed to participate in women's sports. did. Of the 2,128 participants, 79% said biological males who identify as female should not be allowed to participate in women's sports. Of the 1,025 people who said they were a Democrat or Democratic-leaning, 67% said transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete against women.
Immediately after the November election, a national exit poll conducted by the Concerned Women for America (CWA) Legislative Action Committee found that 70% of moderate voters felt that President Donald Trump It turns out that he takes issue with “opposing girls' and women's sports and opposing transgender men.” It is important to them that transgender boys and men have access to women's and women's restrooms.
Additionally, 6% said it was the most important issue, and 44% said it was “very important.”
Francione is one of the longtime Democratic voters who believes his party's lawmakers are failing to implement the will of voters on this issue.
“Progressives have failed!” he added. “Progressives created Grievance Olympics…and it doesn't work!”
