Democratic lawmakers in Washington, D.C. last week rejected the GOP-led Protecting Women and Girls in Sports Act on unfounded grounds that the law would allow sexual predators to perform genital examinations on girls.
This argument was not based on any language in the bill, as Republicans insisted that a genital inspection would never be necessary and that proof of birth sex could be determined simply with a birth certificate.
Still, many prominent Democrats, including House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., used the sexual predator argument in statements and during testimony in the House of Representatives.
This tactic has alienated some of the party’s loyal voters, who have deregistered as Democrats in response.
Prominent law professor Gary Francione has been a lifelong Democrat, dating back to the 1960s. In November, he voted for Kamala Harris and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Penn, who was one of 206 Democrats who voted against the bill last Tuesday.
But Francione, who is an advocate for LGBTQ rights, abortion rights, and even a vegan and animal rights abolitionist, was so offended by Democratic representatives who attempted to link the bill to the empowerment of child predators that he deregistered as a Democrat after last Tuesday’s hearing.
“That bothered me a lot because it screamed lack of integrity, lack of honesty,” Francione told Pak Gazette Digital in an exclusive interview. “Is this the way you fight battles? By trying to insult other people who oppose you and disagree and imply that they are child molesters or pedophiles? It seems to me that you have lost the game… I don’t know how you do it.” they do. “We will ever come back from this.”
Francione has a lifelong network of other Democrats in the field of law and other industries, and he says many of them share his beliefs and will also leave the party.
“I can say with confidence from the people I know who are Democrats that I’ve talked to, that the vast majority of them are very unhappy with all of this and feel like the party has lost its way,” Francione said. “I know a couple who said they were going to [unregister]”.
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Francione initially announced his departure from the party in a viral post on X over the weekend. Many of his thousands of followers responded by insisting that they will follow his lead in withdrawing from the party in response to congressional representatives’ attempt to link the bill to the empowerment of sexual predators.
“This is what I did. That’s when I drew the line and changed the record,” one user responded.
“I know the feeling. They take you to it. Welcome to the club,” wrote another.
Francione believes the premise of allowing trans athletes to compete against women is “discriminatory” against girls and women, and went so far as to call the Democratic argument against the bill “crazy” and “irresponsible.”
“I thought it was very unfair to the large number of very decent people who are concerned about fairness and safety in women’s sports,” she said. “These young girls train hard, work hard, and then men take things away from them!”
Several Democratic representatives in Congress have chosen to refer to the Protecting Women and Girls in Sports Act as the “GOP Child Predators Empowerment Act.” These people include Jeffries, Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Vermont; Rep. Suzanne Bonamic, D-Ore; Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla.; Rep. Whip Clark, D-Mass.; and many of the other 206 Democrats who voted against the bill.
Ocasio-Cortez dismissed the fact that there is no language in the bill that suggests any child would be subject to genital inspections during her argument.
“The majority right now is saying there’s nowhere in this bill that says it’s open to genital examinations. Well, here’s the thing: There’s no enforcement mechanism in this bill. And “When there is no law enforcement mechanism, it opens the door to all law enforcement measures.” mechanism!” said Ocasio-Cortez.
Ocasio-Cortez later proclaimed, “Trans girls are girls!”
But most Democrats who opposed the bill strictly opposed it based on the baseless premise that it would empower sexual predators without even defending the right of trans athletes to compete in women’s sports, as allowing trans inclusion. became a widely unpopular stance in the November elections.
Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., was among those who took that stance. Moulton previously said he believed Democrats advocating for trans inclusion was an issue they struggled with in November, and he repeatedly defended his stance of opposing trans inclusion despite backlash from those in his own party and state in the elections. weeks following President Donald Trump’s victory and Republican defeat. majorities in the House and Senate.
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But Moulton still voted against the bill Tuesday, saying he doesn’t want children to be “subjected to the invasive violations of personal privacy that this bill allows.”
Only two Democrats joined the Republican majority in voting for the bill: Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, and Vicente Gonzales, D-Texas. Her decision to defect from the rest of the party and vote for the protection of women and girls in sports reflects an increasingly widespread position held by many voters in her party and independents, according to recent data.
A recent New York Times/Ipsos Poll found that the vast majority of Americans, including most Democrats, do not believe transgender athletes should be allowed to compete in women’s sports. Of the 2,128 people who participated, 79% said that biological men who identify as women should not be allowed to participate in women’s sports. Of the 1,025 people who identified as Democrats or Democratic-leaning, 67% said transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete with women.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Hakeem Jeffries with trans flag background (Getty Images)
Shortly after the November elections, a national exit poll conducted by the legislative action committee of Concerned Women for America (CWA) found that 70% of moderate voters saw the issue of “Donald Trump’s opposition to transgender boys and men playing sports for girls and women as boys and transgender men use sports for girls and women. “bathrooms” as important to them.
And 6% said it was the most important issue of all, while 44% said it was “very important.”
Francione is one of many longtime Democratic voters who believe his party’s lawmakers have failed to carry out the will of their constituents on this issue.
“Progressives have failed!” he added. “Progressives have created an Olympics of grievances… and they don’t work!”
