During Day 1 of the Biden Administration, President Biden introduced a slew of executive orders. Most of these were introduced solely to undo policies of the Trump Administration, as is common when a transition of power takes place in this way. One of the executive orders in particular really doesn't sit well with me. This executive order is titled "Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation." In reading this EO, it is at first glance a near carbon copy of the Equality Act of 2019 (H. R. 5), which was passed by the House of Representatives but not the Senate in May 2019. Both H. R. 5 and this executive order equate sexual orientation and gender identity to race and biological sex, such that one's sexual orientation and gender identity are protected from discrimination under the law in the same way that race and biological sex are.
There's one major issue with this equation. Race is an immutable, inherent characteristic of an individual. Race is objective and unchanging. Biological sex is also objective, immutable, and unchanging. The same cannot be said about sexual orientation or gender identity. These are subjective and malleable; they can change on a whim. Race and gender identity are not the same; they are not even in the same ballpark. To interpret gender identity and sexual orientation as equivalent to race is a disrespectful slap in the face to every American who fought and died for racial equality and American civil rights from 1861 to 1964 and beyond.
The comparison to racial equality isn't the only problem with this EO. Now, to be fair, I don't disagree with everything in this EO. I agree with the idea that no one should be discriminated against based on whom he or she goes home to at the end of the day. You should not be fired from your accounting job for being a lesbian. However, it's the extended overreach that comes with this idea that is problematic, particularly for religious organizations. If a private Christian school chooses not to hire (or chooses to fire) an openly gay teacher based on their religious beliefs, that is their right. Or, it was, before the failed H. R. 5 and this newly passed EO. This EO sets out to prevent any organization, business, church, or school from hiring or firing based on religious reasons if those religious reasons discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity. It's essentially the "forced contraceptives war" that Obama waged on the Catholic Church all over again. This is infringement on the religious liberties of an entire nation on behalf of a very small subset of the nation. It is wrong and it is unconstitutional.
A more broad aftereffect of this EO is that men can now hijack women's rights to privacy and safety simply by claiming to be women themselves, and be protected for doing so. Discrimination is not a solution for discrimination. At this point, there isn't even a designation in place for what constitutes a legitimate "claim" to identify as a certain gender. In other words: anything goes, and you better not voice your dissent, you privileged, cisgendered bigot. This is disastrous for a functioning society.
There is a plethora of reasons we segregate based on sex – privacy, protection, and safety of women and children, for starters – but also because men and women are inherently different. Those differences should be celebrated, not eradicated. The most troubling part of the EO is actually spelled out bluntly in the second sentence: "Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports." Let's not mince words: this is perverse. The solution to ending discrimination of transgender students is not "let's allow the biological male student who believes he's female to change in front of the female students in the girl's locker room." That's illogical, dangerous nonsense. A real solution would be the creation of a separate space for these students, such that no one is uncomfortably forced to use the bathroom or change in front of those with whom they do not share the same sex or gender identity. But no one wants to talk about that.
The passing of Title IX in 1972 fortified these important differences between the two sexes and emphasized the importance of protecting them, particularly regarding women's sports in grade school and college. The Women's Sports Foundation mentions a quote from the New York Times, in light of the success of American female athletes in the 2016 Olympics, which said, "Our women are going to dominate, not only because of their legal rights but because women in other parts of the world are discriminated against." This powerful statement is now null and void. Our female athletes are being discriminated against, legally by the President of the United States, with the inclusion of biological males in women's sports. The protections of Title IX are out the window, and women's sports as a whole will soon follow.
It's important to note that, in 2018 when discussing certain Democrat economic policies, Nancy Pelosi said the following: "If there is some collateral damage for others who do not share our view, so be it." This is it, folks. When it comes to their policies, the Democrat Party does not care who is hurt, so long as their woke, overreaching policies are enacted. The radical Left does not care about your daughter's rights to privacy and safety in her middle school locker room. The radical Left does not care about your church's right to hire and fire based on the tenets of their faith. The radical Left does not care about the utterly irrational damage done to the majority of us with the issuing of this EO, so long as men are allowed to use the women's bathroom and dominate women's sports.
Differences between the sexes should be celebrated, not eradicated. Our nation is stronger, more successful, and more beautiful when we acknowledge the roles of both men AND women in our society. This EO, and every celebratory response to it, is a step backward for women, religious liberty, humanity, and equality.
Comments