COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 1, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — The Ohio House erupted into chaos this week with Democrat members trying to shout down Republican state Rep. Jena Powell’s introduction of an amendment aimed at preserving female athletics for actual females.
Powell attached the Save Women’s Sports Act as an amendment to a bill allowing athletes in the Buckeye State to profit off their name and likeness.
“The Save Women’s Sports Act is a fairness issue for women to be able to achieve their dreams in athletics in our state, and it’s crucial to preserving women’s rights and the integrity of women’s and girls’ sports,” she said. “Across our country, female athletes are currently losing scholarships, opportunities, medals, education, and training opportunities.”
As Powell spoke, Democrat lawmakers, one of whom was identified as Rep. Michael Skindell, began pounding their desks in protests, shouting her down with screams of “boo” and “unfair.” Video of the incident from multiple positions shows that the outbursts made it impossible to hear Powell from certain parts of the chamber. Throughout the tantrum, several non-protesting lawmakers can be seen looking around, visibly uncomfortable.
On Ohio House floor: Rep. Jena Powell (R-Arcanum) proposes amendment to ban transgender women from participating in women sports, as Democrats try to make a point of order eventually yelling and pounding on desks pic.twitter.com/Nct43Cn4yO
— Andy Chow (@andy_chow) June 24, 2021
Disgraceful behavior from Rep. Michael Skindell at the Ohio House yesterday as Rep. Jena Powell tried to speak. pic.twitter.com/zp8aPsxiyg
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) June 29, 2021
“I can’t explain always why the left doesn’t like some of the things that we do, but this is a simple bill, an amendment to say, ‘Hey, we want to protect the integrity of women’s sports in the state of Ohio,’” Powell later said. “I think the left is frustrated and oftentimes they speak out in ways that are very inappropriate.”
“This is one of the most extreme political attacks on transgender people in the nation,” Skindell later said, without addressing his conduct on the House floor, “This legislation displays a fundamental ignorance about transgendered people and their participation in sports.”
The Christian baker, Jack Phillips, needs your support as he is again being targeted by LGBT activists, despite the fact that his stand against compelled speech and being forced to bake a "wedding" cake for homosexuals was vindicated by the Supreme Court in 2018.
Now, a gender-confused man, "Autumn" Scardina, has succeeded in getting Mr. Phillips fined $500 by Denver District Court judge, A. Bruce Jones, for refusing to make a cake celebrating the man's attempted "transition."
The LGBT mob just won’t leave this Christian baker make his living in peace!
But, Phillips and his legal counsel say they will appeal this ruling.
Please SIGN and SHARE this petition which sends moral support and prayers to Mr. Phillips after this latest assault on his right to free speech and not to be forced, in his work, to promote an ideology with which he disagrees.
The fact that the court pursued the complaint by this gender-confused man, after Phillips' right to reject such compelled speech was confirmed by the Supreme Court, is nothing short of targeting by LGBT activists and harassment by the District Court.
In 2018, the Supreme Court overruled an earlier District Court ruling and determined that forcing Phillips to create a homosexual "wedding" cake was a violation of the First Amendment.
But, just before the Supreme Court's ruling, Scardina (the LGBT-activist-plaintiff in this latest miscarriage of justice) demanded that Phillips create a cake celebrating his “transition.” Upon being refused, Scardina sued Phillips.
"The request was for a custom-designed cake, pink on the inside and blue on the outside, to reflect and celebrate a gender transition," Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a legal organization protecting religious freedom and Phillips' legal counsel, said in a statement on Wednesday.
"Phillips’ shop declined the request because the customer specifically requested that the cake express messages and celebrate an event in conflict with Phillips’ religious beliefs," ADF continued.
"Jack Phillips serves all people but shouldn’t be forced to create custom cakes with messages that violate his conscience," ADF stated. "The harassment of people like Jack … has been occurring for nearly a decade and must stop."
Please SIGN and SHARE this petition which supports Jack Phillips against the latest LGBT efforts to persecute him because of this sincerely held religious beliefs.
Thank you!
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
'Court forces Christian baker to make cakes celebrating a transgender ‘transition’' - www.lifesitenews.com/news/court-forces-christian-baker-to-make-cakes-celebrating-a-transgender-transition
'Jack Phillips back in court over refusal to bake transgender cake' - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/jack-phillips-back-in-court-over-refusal-to-bake-transgender-cake
ADF Statement - https://adfmedia.org/case/scardina-v-masterpiece-cakeshop
**Photo Credit: YouTube screen grab
But scientific research affirms that physiology gives biological males distinct advantages in athletics, which hormone suppression does not suffice to cancel out.
In a paper published by the Journal of Medical Ethics, New Zealand researchers found that “healthy young men [do] not lose significant muscle mass (or power) when their circulating testosterone levels were reduced to (below International Olympic Committee guidelines) for 20 weeks,” and “indirect effects of testosterone” on factors such as bone structure, lung volume, and heart size “will not be altered by hormone therapy”; therefore, “the advantage to transwomen (biological men) afforded by the (International Olympic Committee) guidelines is an intolerable unfairness.”
Despite Democrat agitators’ efforts, the amendment passed 54-40, and the bill passed 57-36, Fox News reports. However, the real threat to the measure appears to be Powell’s fellow Republicans.
John Fortney, a spokesman for Senate President Matt Huffman, said the Senate will not be considering the amended version because the transgender sports ban “itself needs a full set of hearings.”
Without saying whether he would veto the measure, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine went a step further than Fortney and suggested the issue is “best addressed outside of government through individual sports leagues and athletic associations, including the Ohio High School Athletic Association, who can tailor policies to meet the needs of their member athletes and member institutions.”
In fact, as illustrated by the dueling examples of other Republican governors, Ron DeSantis of Florida and Kristi Noem of South Dakota, “sports leagues and athletic associations” are typically impediments to reform, as they approach the issue with a predetermined position in favor of the LGBT lobby.