Democrat outsider Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has found herself at the center of another attack this week after introducing a bill that would limit participation in women’s sports to biological women.
The Protect Women’s Sports Act, which Gabbard introduced with Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) on Thursday, seeks to level the playing field in women’s sports by recognizing that different sexes are born with different physical abilities.
Gabbard’s bill alleges that the anti-discrimination education amendment from 1972, Title IX, has become misinterpreted over the years, allowing those who were born male to unfairly compete against biological females.
She said the law had led to “life-changing opportunities for girls and women that never existed before” and must be protected.
Gabbard said Title IX was being “weakened” by some states who were “misinterpreting” it and “creating uncertainty, undue hardship and lost opportunities for female athletes.”
Our legislation protects Title IX’s original intent which was based on the general biological distinction between men and women athletes based on sex.
Gabbard was soon accused of transphobia by journalists and liberal commentators, who branded the Hawaiian Democrat a “bigot,”“scum,”“horrible,” and a “TERF” – or Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist, a term which was also used against Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling after she expressed concern about children who were going through gender transitions.
Tulsi Gabbard is scum and her weird online cult of supporters are scum too. https://t.co/9VwjOZ7bXA
Tulsi returns to her bigoted roots. https://t.co/1qGDyYfcIt
Tulsi turning TERF is the absolute opposite of surprising, it’s anti-surprise, it’s actually reducing my degree of surprise at totally unrelated things that have happened in the last 24 hours
Others, including transgender military veteran-turned-activist Charlotte Clymer, accused the former Democratic National Committee chairwoman of being a Republican, and alleged she was angling for a commentary position at Fox News.
You: Tulsi Gabbard wants a cushy Fox News gigMe: Tulsi Gabbard wants the 2024 GOP presidential nomination pic.twitter.com/R4bh5keU1t
Tulsi Gabbard is now introducing a blatantly transphobic piece of legislation aimed at trans and non-binary young people. Of course, that’s hardly surprising for a Republican. https://t.co/uqIwG9snt8
“Tulsi Gabbard: assigned Republican at birth,”commented Sarah McBride, who became the first transgender state senator after being elected in Delaware in November.
The attacks resulted in Gabbard – who is often considered to be a Democratic Party outsider due to her opposition to war, support for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, and divergence from the party line on other issues — becoming one of Twitter’s top trending topics on Friday.
Some journalists, however, defended Gabbard, including Australian columnist Rita Panahi, who wrote, “Bravo Tulsi Gabbard. DNC doesn’t deserve you.”
Bravo @TulsiGabbard. DNC doesn’t deserve you. https://t.co/yrHPhxoMV6
100% support of the Protect Women’s Sports Act. Thank you @TulsiGabbard for introducing it. I’m a woman, a lesbian, a sport player and we need safety and fairness in sports for females.
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