Herrod: Biden Administration tells women, girls they don’t matter; we must act to prove that they do

When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last June in the case Bostock v. Clayton County that the 1964 Civil Rights Act’s prohibition on sex discrimination extends to gender identity and sexual orientation —  despite the notable absence of those words in the law itself —  it legislated, rather than interpreted.

It folded to a radical gender movement that has grown ever louder in its threats. 

But when parents, female athletes, and faith leaders voiced concerns that the ruling would allow biological men into girls’ school locker rooms and require female athletes to compete against biological males, they were told that these concerns were unreal because the decision was narrow in scope and only applied in the employment context. 

Yet, as expected, the Biden Administration quickly began work to ensure these concerns would become reality. Overstepping its authority, it weaponized the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Education to broaden the application of the ruling beyond the facts of Bostock. 

[READ ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE: Olson: U.S. Supreme Court confirms protections for LGBT Arizonans, but attacks continue]

When government oversteps its authority, we have checks and balances. But officials with the authority to provide that check must step up to the plate.

For instance, state attorneys general can file lawsuits asking the court to invalidate unlawful guidance from the executive branch. That is exactly what 20 state AGs did, including Arizona’s Mark Brnovich, who has been busy lately pushing back against the administration’s overreach.

The lawsuit details the legal problems with the Biden Administration’s “guidance” and asks the court to strike it down. It calls out the administration for “flouting procedural requirements in their rush to overreach, issu[ing] ‘interpretations’ of federal antidiscrimination law far beyond what the statutory text, regulatory requirements, judicial precedent, and the Constitution permit.”

We applaud this courageous action by Brnovich and the other 19 AGs. While a lawsuit like this would have been uncontroversial even 10 years ago, in today’s climate it takes real fortitude to bring cases like this, knowing that Brnovich and his colleagues will face a volley of cruelty online for standing up for Arizona’s women and girls. 

But it brings me to a question. Where are the other 30 state attorneys general? When the question is protecting women and children, why the cowardly silence?

Well, I can tell you where most of them were: doubling down in their support of harmful policies being pushed on us from the federal government. They penned their own letter asking the Departments of Education and Justice to reintroduce and expand the Obama-era 2014 “Dear Colleague” letter that pushed a radical gender ideology in our schools. 

So, what now? 

The one branch of government that is responsible for legislating could —  and should —  do something about this. Eight states have passed legislation that protects fairness in women’s sports by ensuring that males do not take spots on the podium away from female athletes.

Others are pushing back against the harmful and divisive critical race and gender curriculum being forced on students in public schools, by creating more transparency and accountability — and empowering parents to decide what their child is exposed to.

In addition, Arkansas became the first to protect minor children from being subjected to experimental and irreversible hormone “therapy” and the amputation of healthy body parts before they are even old enough to consider the consequences. 

Should you care about this? Do you have a daughter competing in sports, are you a woman who uses a gym shower, do you have a child struggling with gender dysphoria —  do you care about the people in any these situations?

If so, the answer is “yes,” you should care deeply about this. The health of our society is determined by how we treat the most vulnerable among us. 

I applaud those who are currently pushing back on overreach and call on both the Arizona Legislature and the U.S. Congress to legislate and fix this problem before more women and children are harmed.

Editor's note: Cathi Herrod, Esq., is president of the Center for Arizona Policy.