Joining the governors of a dozen Republican-led states that have passed similar legislation in the past two years, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt has signed the state’s “Save Women’s Sports Act” into law. The law bans boys and men from competing as girls and women in sports designated for girls and women.
In signing the bill into law, Stitt called the legislation “common sense” and preemptively addressed the standard objections of the LGBTQ lobby. In a statement, he said, “When it comes to sports and athletics, girls should compete against girls. Boys should compete against boys. And let’s be very clear. That’s all this bill says.” The Republican governor went on to say, “What we are trying to accomplish here is very simple. We are protecting women’s sports. We are ensuring a level playing field for female athletes who work hard – who train hard – who are committed to their team – who have dreams to be Number One in their sport – who deserve a fair competition.”
Stitt signed the bill into law Wednesday, surrounded by female students and athletes who support the law’s efforts to protect female sports from invasion by male athletes who claim to be female. Just before the signing, Stitt tweeted, “In 30 minutes I will be joined by state lawmakers and female athletes from across the state as I sign the ‘Save Women’s Sports Act.’”
In the wake of male-pretending-to-be-female swimmer Lia Thomas racing in the NCAA Women’s Championships, highly publicized calls from Virginia Tech swimmer Reka Gyorgy and University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines — both of whom competed against Thomas — have been ignored by the NCAA. But, Stitt said, “It’s simply not fair, and it will not happen in the state of Oklahoma.”
And Oklahoma’s solid work to protect female sports is not going unnoticed.
As Daily Wire reported:
“It’s a good day for girls in Oklahoma,” Family Policy Alliance spokeswoman Meridian Baldacci said in a statement. “Female athletes should grow up with a level playing field, in life and in sports.”
“As we have seen in recent weeks, when males are allowed to compete in female sports competitions, they can and do take championship titles and other elite opportunities that were meant for girls,” she added. “But in Oklahoma, girls can know that they have a level playing field, and a fair shot at the opportunities meant just for them.”
This comes just as Arizona Republican Governor Doug Ducey also signed into law a bill banning males from female sports. And Ducey wasn’t finished there. Going for a Culture War Win hat trick, Ducey also signed into law two other bills, banning abortion after 15 weeks and outlawing “gender reassignment surgery” for anyone under the age of 18.
Over the past two years, a growing number of Republican-led states have eschewed the advice of the “Silent Majority” and begun waging battle in the culture war — and that effort is bearing fruit. As more and more red states begin to engage, protections of life, liberty, and property are on the rise. And as Representative Jim Banks (R-Ind.) points out, as a result of engaging in the culture war, Republicans and their policies are rising in the polls as Democrats and their policies are tanking. This is a complete reversal of the days when Republicans deliberately avoided cultural issues. As this writer reported in a previous article, Banks told The Daily Signal, “Our party leaders for too long preached that we shouldn’t be involved in cultural fights. I can remember Republican leaders at the state and national level, throughout the early 2000s, they stressed that these issues weren’t important, that Republicans should shy away from that.”
Thank God that at least some Republican leaders have chosen to ignore that bad advice that kept the moral majority silent. As Republicans have engaged in the culture war, they are winning. And so is America.
