One of the left’s strangest hills to die on in recent years is this insistence that men and boys should be able to play in women’s and girls’ sports. For a political movement that has made such a big deal about feminism for generations, it’s inexplicable that leftists are okay with biological males taking medals, records, and scholarships away from the girls and women who have worked and trained so hard to excel on the field, on the court, or in the pool.
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Thankfully, President Donald Trump recognizes the insanity of denying hardworking girls and women their ability to compete safely and fairly. His February executive order entitled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” did just that, but Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has dug his heels in. He sued President Trump and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi over that executive order and the “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism And Restoring Biological Truth To The Federal Government” executive order in April — because Ellison believes that it’s unfair to have girls and women compete against only girls and women.
The Duluth News Tribune reported on April 22, “Ellison said at a press conference announcing the legal action Tuesday afternoon that the threat of rescinding federal funds from the Trump administration and the Department of Justice violates the 10th Amendment by ‘trying to coerce Minnesota to follow its discriminatory policy.’”
“I’m not going to sit around waiting for the Trump administration to sue Minnesota today,” Ellison told the media. “Minnesota is suing him and his administration because we will not participate in this shameful bullying.”
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“It’s extremely disappointing that Attorney General Ellison would rather risk federal funding and file yet another taxpayer-funded lawsuit against the Trump administration than simply do the right thing and keep boys out of girls sports,” said Minnesota Speaker of the House Lisa Demuth (R-District 13A) in a statement. “It’s a waste of taxpayer money to further a political agenda that makes girls less safe and makes sports less fair.”
It’s not as if the president’s executive order reflects some extreme view. A New York Times-Ipsos poll from earlier this year found that 79% of respondents believe that men shouldn’t compete in women’s sports; that figure includes two-thirds of Democrats.
Some Minnesotans believe that Ellison’s suit is a punch in the face to girls and women. Jim Schultz writes in a Thursday op-ed at Alpha News:
With Minnesota facing the threat of crime, rampant fraud in public programs, and skyrocketing costs burdening every family, Ellison has made it a priority to ensure boys can take spots on girls’ teams. It’s absurd, but it is more than that. It’s an insult to every Minnesota parent and young woman who recognizes the importance of girls’ sports and believes girls deserve a fair and safe environment in which to compete.
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Schultz also insists that Ellison is using the suit to distract from his failures and scandals. He also believes that Ellison is blatantly appealing to the most radical members of his base with this stunt.
“This isn’t leadership. It’s performance politics and ideological extremism,” Schultz writes. “And Minnesotans — young athletes, their families, and taxpayers — are left paying the price.”
Ellison may think he’s fighting some civil rights crusade, but, as is typical of the left these days, he’s fighting for the tiniest minority. And this crusade hurts the people who need protection from that minority the most.
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