Latest news with #Women'sBillofRights'
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
West Virginia governor targets transgender women for the crimes of cisgender men
West Virginia Gov. Patrick's Morrisey's bill to ban transgender women from single space places can't be enforced if the Legislature passes it because of Fourth Circuit Court ruling. (Vladimir Vladimirov | Getty Images) Gov. Patrick Morrisey's 'gender definition' bill is wasting everyone's time. House Bill 2006 states it will 'reaffirm the longstanding meaning of sex, male and female in state law,' and 'preserve women's restrooms, multiple occupancy restrooms or changing rooms, and sleeping quarters for women in facilities where women have been traditionally afforded privacy and safety from acts of abuse, harassment, sexual assault, and violence committed by men.' There are no criminal penalties under this bill because doing so would be in violation of the ruling in Grimm v. Gloucester School Board, where the Fourth Circuit ruled that under Title IX protections, a student must be able to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity. This bill only comes into play if that ruling is overturned. This is similar to the inaccurately named 'Women's Bill of Rights' that former Gov. Jim Justice pushed last year, but failed to go up for a vote on the final night of the regular session. The only difference is that Morrisey has added domestic violence shelters to the list of spaces. The West Virginia Coalition of Domestic Violence opposes this bill. 'Most of the women seeking shelter have been abused by their intimate partners, not men dressing up as women to gain access to vulnerable survivors,' the coalition said in a press release. 'Protection for women and girls is best provided by recognizing that most forms of violence are perpetrated against them within their homes.' This is the myth that Republicans try to sell — straight men will dress up as women to enter these spaces and abuse women. In states with an LGBTQ non-discrimination law, there's no record of behavior like that increasing. The problem here is cisgender men, not transgender women. This bill targets the wrong people. Let's look at some of the wording in this bill: '…in facilities where women have been traditionally afforded privacy and safety from acts of abuse, harassment, sexual assault, and violence committed by men.' Why aren't women afforded safety from men in all facilities? Women — cisgender and transgender — all deserve to feel safe. However, that's not how the world works. Domestic violence shelters are necessary. And transgender people may be more likely to experience intimate partner violence than cisgender people. Banning domestic violence shelters from serving transgender women would be 'a death sentence,' said Julie Britton, executive director of the YWCA Resolve Family Abuse Program in Charleston. 'There are no alternative facilities, and if we are not available, the only other option would be a homeless shelter or the streets,' she told lawmakers. 'I don't know if we're worried about women's safety putting trans women out on the street.' It's clear that these shelters want to continue to help transgender women — so why would the state prevent them from doing so? It's unnecessary government overreach. If Republicans really cared about keeping women safe from harassment and violence, there wouldn't have been bills in both the Senate (which was withdrawn) and House trying to remove rape and incest exemptions from the state's near-total abortion ban. How is it protecting a woman to make her give birth after a man forced himself on her and impregnated her? In West Virginia, a rapist's parental rights can only be limited or terminated if there's a conviction. Nationally, only about 31% of sexual assaults are reported, and of those only about 2.5% of sexual abusers will go to prison or jail. Only about 12% of child sexual abuse is reported to the police. In about 8 out of 10 incidents, the woman knew her rapist, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN — only about 19.5% of rapes are committed by a stranger, making it more difficult on the victim to report the incident for fear of more retaliation. Those incidents aren't happening in women's locker rooms or women's bathrooms. Another bill that will put women in danger is Senate Bill 299, which aims to ban hormone treatment for children diagnosed with gender dysphoria. Children with gender dysphoria suffer from psychological distress because their gender identity doesn't match the gender they were assigned at birth. So much so, that they can sometimes feel suicidal. When doctors can prescribe hormone treatment, like puberty blockers, it relieves some of that distress. The medications temporarily pause puberty and are totally reversible. When the Senate discussed SB 299, they had virtual testimonies from people who tried to sell the story that minors receiving gender-affirming care are having major surgeries. They are not. A study by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health network found little to no gender-affirming surgeries on transgender minors in the U.S. In fact, cisgender minors and adults had substantially more gender-affirming surgeries, such as breast reductions surgeries for males. Gender-affirming care is most often used by cisgender people. If you aren't going to ban hair transplants and breast augmentation surgeries for cisgender people you're not serious about gender-affirming care. You're only serious about hurting transgender people. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
West Virginia governor targets transgender women for the crimes of cisgender men
West Virginia Gov. Patrick's Morrisey's bill to ban transgender women from single space places can't be enforced if the Legislature passes it because of Fourth Circuit Court ruling. (Vladimir Vladimirov | Getty Images) Gov. Patrick Morrisey's 'gender definition' bill is wasting everyone's time. House Bill 2006 states it will 'reaffirm the longstanding meaning of sex, male and female in state law,' and 'preserve women's restrooms, multiple occupancy restrooms or changing rooms, and sleeping quarters for women in facilities where women have been traditionally afforded privacy and safety from acts of abuse, harassment, sexual assault, and violence committed by men.' There are no criminal penalties under this bill because doing so would be in violation of the ruling in Grimm v. Gloucester School Board, where the Fourth Circuit ruled that under Title IX protections, a student must be able to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity. This bill only comes into play if that ruling is overturned. This is similar to the inaccurately named 'Women's Bill of Rights' that former Gov. Jim Justice pushed last year, but failed to go up for a vote on the final night of the regular session. The only difference is that Morrisey has added domestic violence shelters to the list of spaces. The West Virginia Coalition of Domestic Violence opposes this bill. 'Most of the women seeking shelter have been abused by their intimate partners, not men dressing up as women to gain access to vulnerable survivors,' the coalition said in a press release. 'Protection for women and girls is best provided by recognizing that most forms of violence are perpetrated against them within their homes.' This is the myth that Republicans try to sell — straight men will dress up as women to enter these spaces and abuse women. In states with an LGBTQ non-discrimination law, there's no record of behavior like that increasing. The problem here is cisgender men, not transgender women. This bill targets the wrong people. Let's look at some of the wording in this bill: '…in facilities where women have been traditionally afforded privacy and safety from acts of abuse, harassment, sexual assault, and violence committed by men.' Why aren't women afforded safety from men in all facilities? Women — cisgender and transgender — all deserve to feel safe. However, that's not how the world works. Domestic violence shelters are necessary. And transgender people may be more likely to experience intimate partner violence than cisgender people. Banning domestic violence shelters from serving transgender women would be 'a death sentence,' said Julie Britton, executive director of the YWCA Resolve Family Abuse Program in Charleston. 'There are no alternative facilities, and if we are not available, the only other option would be a homeless shelter or the streets,' she told lawmakers. 'I don't know if we're worried about women's safety putting trans women out on the street.' It's clear that these shelters want to continue to help transgender women — so why would the state prevent them from doing so? It's unnecessary government overreach. If Republicans really cared about keeping women safe from harassment and violence, there wouldn't have been bills in both the Senate (which was withdrawn) and House trying to remove rape and incest exemptions from the state's near-total abortion ban. How is it protecting a woman to make her give birth after a man forced himself on her and impregnated her? In West Virginia, a rapist's parental rights can only be limited or terminated if there's a conviction. Nationally, only about 31% of sexual assaults are reported, and of those only about 2.5% of sexual abusers will go to prison or jail. Only about 12% of child sexual abuse is reported to the police. In about 8 out of 10 incidents, the woman knew her rapist, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN — only about 19.5% of rapes are committed by a stranger, making it more difficult on the victim to report the incident for fear of more retaliation. Those incidents aren't happening in women's locker rooms or women's bathrooms. Another bill that will put women in danger is Senate Bill 299, which aims to ban hormone treatment for children diagnosed with gender dysphoria. Children with gender dysphoria suffer from psychological distress because their gender identity doesn't match the gender they were assigned at birth. So much so, that they can sometimes feel suicidal. When doctors can prescribe hormone treatment, like puberty blockers, it relieves some of that distress. The medications temporarily pause puberty and are totally reversible. When the Senate discussed SB 299, they had virtual testimonies from people who tried to sell the story that minors receiving gender-affirming care are having major surgeries. They are not. A study by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health network found little to no gender-affirming surgeries on transgender minors in the U.S. In fact, cisgender minors and adults had substantially more gender-affirming surgeries, such as breast reductions surgeries for males. Gender-affirming care is most often used by cisgender people. If you aren't going to ban hair transplants and breast augmentation surgeries for cisgender people you're not serious about gender-affirming care. You're only serious about hurting transgender people. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Public hearing focuses on whether to define male, female in Nebraska law
At left, Abbi Swatsworth, executive director of OutNebraska, leads a Feb. 7, 2025, news conference in support of transgender Nebraskans at the Nebraska State Capitol. At right, State Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha, center, stands at a news conference after introducing her "Stand With Women Act" to define male and female in state law on Jan. 10, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN — Dozens of Nebraskans, with a majority in opposition, testified Friday on legislation seeking to create sex-based definitions of 'male' and 'female' in state law, on a bill largely aimed at K-12 and collegiate sports, bathrooms and state government. Legislative Bill 89, from State Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha and introduced at the request of Gov. Jim Pillen, would adopt the 'Stand With Women Act.' The bill would define sex in Nebraska as binary — male or female — based on whether someone 'naturally has, had, will or would have, but for a congenital anomaly or intentional or unintentional disruption, the reproductive system that at some point produces, transports and utilizes' either eggs (female) or sperm (male) for fertilization. The legislation mirrors a 'Women's Bill of Rights' that Pillen enacted by executive order in August 2023 and multiple similar orders from President Donald Trump over the past few weeks. 'This is not a political issue,' Kauth told the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee. 'This is an issue of common sense, adherence to biology and establishing protections for women and girls.' Kauth received supportive testimony from Pillen, the Nebraska Family Alliance, Alliance Defending Freedom, Nebraska Catholic Conference and a couple of high-profile student-athletes, including Selina Soule, a former track and field athlete from Connecticut, and Rebekah Allick, a member of the Nebraska volleyball team. 'Maybe I'm too long in the tooth,' Pillen testified. 'We just need to move back a generation and have common sense.' Michelle Jud spoke against the bill on behalf of Rainbow Parents of Nebraska, a recently formed coalition of parents advocating for LGBTQ youths and their families. 'As parents of queer kids, we knew from the moment our children came out to us that they would face more challenges than most,' Jud said. 'We didn't know how hard we would have to fight to protect their basic rights.' Jud echoed a fellow 'rainbow parent' Friday in saying that being queer is the 'least interesting thing' about their children, who are artists, singers, poets, multi-sport athletes and leaders in student government. More than 100 people testified, and about 20 spoke in favor. Opponents stretched the hearing well into the evening, led by transgender youths and adults, parents, multiple nonprofits and the school board president of the Omaha Public Schools. 'We are here, and we will not be erased,' said Jessie McGrath, a native of Max, Nebraska, veteran and transgender woman who lives in Kauth's district. Amos Sobotka, a Nebraska native, who is transgender, said his gender transition gave him 'peace' and that passing Kauth's LB 89 would risk his livelihood, family and community. 'I was raised to believe that all people have value here,' Sobotka said. 'I did not come all this way to be degraded and dismissed, and I refuse to accept this travesty.' Kauth's bill, and an amendment she unveiled Friday, would require public K-12 schools, postsecondary institutions and state agencies to designate all bathrooms for use by females, males or families. Restrooms could also be single occupancy and be gender neutral. The amendment strips placing such requirements on private schools, a decision Kauth said she reached while crafting the amendment with the national Alliance Defending Freedom. Public schools, and private schools that compete against or are part of an athletic association with public schools, would need to designate sports teams as for males, females or mixed. Female students could participate in male-only sports if there is no female alternative, such as football or wrestling. One of Trump's executive orders called for executive agencies to schools or colleges that allow trans student-athletes to participate. On Thursday, a day after Trump signed that order, the National Collegiate Athletic Association reversed allowing trans student-athletes to compete in women's sports. Kauth said that while she is 'thrilled' about the Trump policy, it can be overturned, and states need specific legislation. State Sen. Merv Riepe of Ralston, who opposed a 2024 bill from Kauth that was limited at the time to just K-12 sports, restrooms and locker rooms, said he likes Trump's executive order, describing it as straightforward and that it 'took no prisoners.' That Kauth bill fell short by two votes of advancing. 'I will see how this plays out in the next 30 days and defer on any state legislative action,' Riepe said in a Wednesday text. NCAA President Charlie Baker told a U.S. Senate panel in December that he was aware of fewer than 10 active transgender student-athletes out of the NCAA's 510,000 participants. Jeff Stauss, an assistant director for the Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA), said eight students have applied since 2018 under an existing Gender Participation Policy for the NSAA, the group most public and private schools in the state coordinate with for school athletics. The policy requires transgender student-athletes to provide affirmation on their gender identity. Trans female students must also demonstrate through medical examination and physiological testing that they do 'not possess physical… or physiological advantages over genetic females of the same age group.' Trans girls must also take one year of hormones or go through gender reassignment surgery, which was banned in the state after Oct. 1, 2023. Kauth led the legislative push for that prohibition as well, which also mandated months of gender-identity-focused therapy for youths with gender dysphoria before minors could access puberty blockers or hormone blockers. Jane Erdenberger, president of the Omaha school board, said the previous restrictions could lead to at least a two-year delay for trans girls before they could even be considered for athletic participation. She said Kauth's new bill interferes with an OPS vision that every student is daily prepared for success and learning. Kauth has said school districts can choose whether to use the NSAA model, such as Kearney or Norfolk Public Schools requiring sports participation based on a student's sex at birth. No public school officials spoke in favor of Kauth's bill. Stauss said NSAA doesn't release specific information about its applications, such as how many were accepted, 'to protect the privacy and legal rights of the students and their families.' 'The NSAA is aware of President Trump's executive order and we are monitoring the legislation in the Nebraska Unicameral,' Stauss said in a statement to the Nebraska Examiner. 'The NSAA will comply with any new federal or state law.' Allick, the Husker volleyball player who testified, joined Kauth in January to unveil the Stand With Women Act. Allick said Friday that there were real-world problems to address — such as children dying, human trafficking, homelessness and hunger — but that women and girls need protection. 'Forgive me for my brazenness and insensitivity to this right now, but women have fought too freaking hard to have space in politics, doctors' offices, classrooms and sports for all to be taken over yet again by men,' Allick said. The UNL student-athlete said those with gender dysphoria need compassion, but she said she didn't want to see a penis in her locker room. She told the committee not to sacrifice women's safety or opportunities or wait until something tragic happens before acting. 'My locker room is a safe space,' said Allick, who still competes at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. 'It is a place of sisterhood, a place to talk about love lives, hardships, period cramps, things that women talk about and only women understand.' Kauth said whether even one girl or woman is made to feel threatened or unsafe, or if they lose an opportunity, is, 'by definition, a problem.' Soule, from Connecticut, is one of the lead plaintiffs in an ongoing lawsuit against trans-inclusive sports policies in her state. She told the committee not to let future student-athletes compete against trans student-athletes, as she did in high school. 'I remember what it was like in the lineup for the race to get into my blocks wanting to win but knowing the outcome long before the start of the race,' Soule testified. Soule said lawmakers risk the 'complete eradication' of women's sports if they don't step in. Former student-athletes Emma Haith, from Burke High School and UNL, and Dahly Long, from Omaha Central High School and a senior social work major at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, spoke against the bill. Long said LB 89 fosters exclusion rather than fairness, and Haith, citing her faith as a Catholic, said she believes in treating all people with dignity and compassion. 'They [sports] teach teamwork, discipline and inclusion,' Haith said at a noon news conference. 'This bill contradicts those values by targeting transgender youth and denying them the opportunities that benefit all young people.' Greg Brown, an attorney, professor of exercise science at the University of Nebraska at Kearney and a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, said that to say 'sex is complicated' is 'intentionally disingenuous about a universal and simple truth.' 'Human beings are either male or female,' Brown said. 'Every human that has ever existed owes their existence to the unification of the male gamete sperm with the female gamete ova. There's no other option when it comes to human procreation.' Brown said that includes intersex people, about 0.02% of people, he said, who have a sex development disorder. Male student-athletes also have an advantage as young as 8 years old, Brown said. 'When someone says, 'Well, it's only a few trans women,' they're asking us to accept unfair male advantages in the female sporting category,' Brown testified. Freshman State Sen. Dan Lonowski of Hastings aided Kauth with his questions, saying he understood where she was coming from. He served as a wrestling coach for 35 years, but it wasn't until about five years ago that girls competed, when he saw physical differences. Kauth's bill could offer intersex people accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, though under questioning from State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha she said she didn't know if intersex people were covered already or what accommodations would exist. 'Is it your opinion that trans people have a mental disorder?' Cavanaugh asked Kauth. 'Yes,' she replied. Cavanaugh asked how the Legislature could direct the University of Nebraska to adopt her bill, as under the Nebraska Constitution and state law the Legislature can't dictate how NU manages its facilities — that's up to the NU Board of Regents. Kauth said enforcement would be like any other law or school policy, leaving wide latitude to colleges, universities and public schools how to implement the directives. Erin Feichtinger of the Women's Fund of Omaha and Abbi Swatsworth of OutNebraska said that this enforcement model would open up all women to the subjective view of what is 'female.' Swatsworth said the bill reminded her of the Jim Crow era, and she questioned whether people could be forced to 'prove' their gender before being allowed to enter a bathroom under the law. Kathy Wilmot of Beaver City, an NU regent who testified in favor of the bill for the Eagle Forum, and in her personal capacity, told the Examiner that regents aren't currently considering a policy such as Kauth's. State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha voiced concern about putting into law that 'women are weaker when we know not all women are weaker than all men.' She questioned what legal implications adding those findings could have for other cases 'down the road,' such as equal employment or fair pay. Kauth, who chairs the Legislature's Business and Labor Committee, said Hunt's questions were 'quite a stretch' and that whether women were 'weaker' was in Hunt's words, not her own. 'If that's not your intention, I'm happy to have you correct the record right now,' Hunt said. Kauth responded: 'Physically and biologically women and men grow differently, and women are consistently less strong than men.' The committee took no immediate action on Kauth's bill. If advanced, the bill would require at least 33 votes in the 49-member Legislature to overcome a promised filibuster. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
