THINGS ARE CHANGING AND U.S. DEMOCRATS WOULD DO WELL TO KEEP UP
As I explain here, I am a lifelong Democrat and I do not currently have plans to change my party affiliation. However, I know several women (and one gay man) who have, in the past three years, switched from Democrat to either Republican or Independent because the leadership of the Democratic party steadfastly refuses to listen to women when it comes to our concerns regarding so-called “gender identity.”
I know one woman, a signatory to the Declaration on Women’s Sex-Based Rights, who went to her state Democratic party leadership to complain about the enshrinement of “gender identity” in the law. She was told, “Your views are not welcome here.” Her response: You don’t want my vote? Fine, you won’t get it. Boom, she registered as a Republican and got active in local Republican women’s organizing.*
In 2018, hundreds of British women quit the Labour party because of Labour’s insistence on ignoring their concerns on the topic of self-identification of “gender identity.” Party leadership had stated that it would “guarantee candidates the right to self-identify as female without the need for a medical test or other certification showing that they [have] biologically changed sex.” Women weren’t having it, so they left.
In April 2021, Scottish women refused to vote for the Scottish National Party in Parliamentary elections because of the SNP’s refusal to listen to women on matters pertaining to sex and gender. They made their objections public.
On May 15, the incoming chairwoman of the U.K. Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said that it was “’entirely reasonable’ for people to challenge the biological status of women who were born as men.” The EHRC’s website states: “Our job is to help make Britain fairer. We do this by safeguarding and enforcing the laws that protect people’s rights to fairness, dignity and respect.”
(I am posting screenshots of the piece in The Times discussing this here because many readers will be blocked behind a paywall; my text follows.)
I have personally warned staff members of prominent Democratic Senators that women will be leaving the party in droves if it doesn’t pay attention to our concerns.
I understand that we do not have the kind of money that buys complicity. We are not the Denton’s law firm, which in 2019 published a remarkable document outlining its strategy of getting “gender identity” enshrined in law using tactics of stealth and manipulation.
But we are paying attention. We care about the rights, privacy, and safety of women and girls. We care about, in the words of evolutionary biologist Colin Wright, our society’s tether to reality. We have no intention of quitting any time soon.
Democrats, we know that you understand this issue. I know that you know because I informed Vice President Harris’s sister and Senator Warren’s husband about these things in 2019.** We know that you see us. We know that you are ignoring us. You are not confused. You do not need to be educated. What you need is to get a backbone. Stop pandering.
If you don’t, you will lose us.
President Biden said the following during his inaugural speech in January:
“We must reject a culture in which facts themselves are manipulated and even manufactured.”
“Here we stand, where 108 years ago at another inaugural, thousands of protestors tried to block brave women from marching for the right to vote.”
“There is truth and there are lies. Lies told for power and for profit. And each of us has a duty and responsibility, as citizens, as Americans, and especially as leaders – leaders who have pledged to honor our Constitution and protect our nation — to defend the truth and to defeat the lies.”
To the President, I say this: I agree. Please stop manipulating and manufacturing facts. Hours after making that statement about women’s suffrage, you signed an Executive Order that erased women throughout the law. Mr. President, the lie of gender identity is being told for power and for profit. You have a duty, as a citizen, as an American, and especially as a leader, to defend the truth and to defeat the lie.
On March 6, the U.S. chapter of the Women’s Human Rights Campaign (WHRC USA) told Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer that women all around the world want him to scrap the Equality Act, which would redefine sex to include “gender identity” throughout U.S. civil rights law. On March 16, I submitted written testimony to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in opposition to the Equality Act (and received written confirmation that the testimony had been received by every member of the Committee). On April 30, WHRC USA sent a letter, signed by thousands of women all over the world, to President Biden, asking him to scrap his January Executive Order.
Democrats, 2022 is coming soon. Are you paying attention?
*WHRC is a nonpartisan organization. U.S.-based signatories include Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Greens, and unaffiliated people.
**I know Senator Warren’s husband because he was one of my law school professors. I know Vice President Harris’s sister because I worked with her on Hillary’s 2016 Presidential campaign.