Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard hit back at critics of legislation she’s introduced to prevent transgender women from competing in female sports and for the care of infant survivors of late-term abortion, calling them “hypocrites.”
A number of people called Gabbard, who leaves Congress this month, “transphobic” and a “right wing s—t heel” on Twitter, among other invectives.
“I welcome real criticism and debate,” Gabbard (D-Hawaii) told The Post Saturday. “But my so-called critics don’t want to debate the issues. They just want to engage in smears and slurs and name-calling and innuendo.”
“Identity politics is having an incredibly destructive effect on our country rather than recognizing what connects all Americans,” she said. “It’s being done to help people and parties get in power and stay in power by pitting individual Americans against each other.”
Gabbard introduced the bipartisan bill, dubbed the “Protect Women’s Sports Act,” with Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) on Thursday. The bill seeks to protect “the sex-based intention of Title IX protections by reaffirming the biological sex-based distinctions between men and women in athletics.” The bill would prevent organizations which allow biological males to compete against females from receiving federal funding.
“My ‘Protect Women’s Sports Act’ simply protects the rights & interests of girls & women who participate in sports so they can compete on a level playing field. Denying biological differences between men & women undermines the reason why Title IX was created in the first place,” Gabbard wrote on Twitter. “My ‘Protect Women’s Sports Act’ is based on science. It safeguards equality & ensures a level playing field for girls & women competing in sports. It upholds Title IX’s original intent which was based on the general biological distinction between men & women athletes based on sex.”
“Title IX was created out of a recognition of a biological distinction between men & women, & the need to make sure women & girls have equal opportunities to compete on a level playing field in sports,” Gabbard added. “My bill upholds the original intent of Title IX, & strengthens it. That’s all.”
But LBGTQ rights advocate Charlotte Clymer was one of numerous activists who called the legislation “blatantly transphobic.” She accused Gabbard supporters of using trans people as “bargaining chips.”
“The real reason why so many people are upset by my Title IX legislation is that it recognizes the biological distinction between men and women,” Gabbard said.
“It’s the height of hypocrisy for someone who claims to be an advocate for women’s rights to also simultaneously to deny the biological existence of women. How can someone claim to be a champion of women while denying our very existence?”
“I will point again to what I said about identity politics,” she said. “The word ‘diversity’ gets tossed around a lot. You want to have people in our government who are best suited to serving the American people. There’s a lot of criticism about the people Biden is choosing. Maybe don’t have everyone coming in from the elite world of Washington. How about having some diversity in the actual qualifications you bring to the job?”
Gabbard released an eight and a half minute video on her Twitter account where she went into greater detail about why it’s important to protect women’s sports and limit participation to only biological females.
Watch:
Title IX is a historic law that positively changed everything for women & girls. This video explains how, and why I introduced the Protect Women’s Sports Act – to clarify, uphold & strengthen the original intent of Title IX, ensuring a level playing field for girls & women. pic.twitter.com/B0647yCGmW
— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) December 13, 2020
This is an excerpt from Foxnews
