~by State Senator Jesse Green
March 4, 2022
The big headlines from the Capitol this week were the passage of an historic flat tax bill as well as the passage of legislation that will protect girls sports in Iowa. This week I took a moment to speak on the floor in support of the girls sports bill. I believe it is appropriate for this weeks newsletter to share the speech with you.
“I’m speaking today to stand in strong support of House File 2416 and the stance Iowans are taking to protect the integrity of sport across our great state. Most of us have seen the headlines regarding Ivy League swimmer Lia Thomas. In her first three years competing on the men’s team as Will Thomas, he ranked as the #462 male in the NCAA. Now, as a senior on the women’s team, she sits at #1 in the NCAA, just breaking a few Ivy League records at their championships at Harvard last month. Proponents will argue that Lia has a genetic advantage similar to other dominant athletes like Michael Phelps or Shaquille O’Neill. To say that she’s breaking records merely because she was born male is the product of a sexist, transphobic, and homophobic society. Mr. President I believe most Iowans see what’s happening.
“While liberal elites in the Ivy League defend a biological man breaking their swim records, we in Iowa are protecting women, the integrity of competition, and ensuring fairness across the board for all of our athletes. Today, by passing this measure, we send a message to the nation that Iowans will not put common sense aside for wokeness. In the midst of an ongoing culture war, Iowans are taking bold steps to preserve the integrity and purity of athletic competition for generations to come. This is truly an historic day. I stand in strong support of this measure and encourage all Iowans to stand with us.”
“We are now the 11th state to pass this measure. My heart is saddened that we have come to this moment of decay in our society that we even have to have this debate. There are fears that this legislation will result in lawsuits. There are fears that maybe the federal government will refuse certain funding to our state due to the passage of this bill. There are fears that we may lose large sporting events coming to our state due to this bill. My response to those fears is, it is never the wrong time to do the right thing. Regardless of how often the left says that 2+2=5, 2+2 will always equal 4. We must always stand and defend truth. To passively sit back and allow the left to ruin women’s sports would be one of the greatest travesties of our generation.”
