Advocates rally to blast Biden’s Title IX changes

Opponents to President Joe Biden’s rewrite of Title IX gathered outside of the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to decry the Biden administration’s changes to Title IX.

There were a mix of attendees at the press conference, including various state attorneys and parental rights advocates. 

Speakers at the press conference included senior legal fellow Sarah Parshall Perry, Solicitor General of Montana Christian Corrigan, Louisiana Superintendent Cade Brumley, Lainey Armistead, former collegiate athlete, Legal Counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom Rachel Rouleau, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, Florida Commissioner of Education Manny Díaz Jr., Independent Women’s Forum Ambassador Paula Scanlan, Kim Hermann, executive director of Southeastern Legal Foundation, Wyoming Superintendent Megan Degenfelder, Superintendent of Public Instruction of Montana Elsie Arntzen, and Tiffany Justice, founder of Moms for Liberty.

“Look, we are here today to reign in abusive power by a federal agency,” Brumley said. “To reign in ideological interest that violate the safety and natural order of a civil society. We’re here in a stand of solidarity, a stand on the right side of history. For us in the state of Louisiana, these reckless changes to Title IX have drawn a clear line in the sand.”

Rouleau spoke about how Alliance for Defending Freedom (ADF) has filed five lawsuits opposing the Title IX changes.

“The Biden Administration’s unlawful attempt to redefine sex in Title IX to include gender identity will gut women’s equal opportunities, threaten their safety and fairness, and even eliminate fairness in women’s sports,” Rouleau said.  

“Girls deserve their own private spaces”, Rouleau added. “They deserve to enter their own locker rooms and bathrooms without being faced with the frightening reality of having to change in front of or shower next to a male. The government should be protecting the privacy and safety of all students, not undermining it.”

Murrill also touched on the lack of privacy rights caused by these Title IX changes during her speech.

“You know, one of the things that I keep going back to when I think about some of the most egregious aspects of this rule is not just the fact, which is bad enough, that women have to change give up their privacy rights, but that they are prohibited from talking about it,” Murrill said. “And this is a rule, this is a law that was passed by congress that was intended to create a vehicle for us to talk about it, to complain about it, and to get redress for sexual harassment and for other kinds of discrimination against women in educational environments.”

“Unfortunately since 2021, the Biden Administration has waged war against women in order to cater to the woke mob,” said Díaz.

Several of the speakers at the press conference, including Degenfelder, emphasized wanting to protect women and girls.

“Our people have spoken, and they demand we protect their girls,” Degenfelder said. 

“This is about safety and fairness for biological girls, and they are counting on us,” Degenfelder said. “These rules are yet another example of the Biden Administration’s gross federal overreach, completely circumventing the legislative process here in DC and disregarding the laws and decisions we are making in our states.”

Justice slammed the changes being made to Title IX in regards to sexual orientation.

“The least interesting thing about a child should be orientation,” Justice said. “With only a third of American children reading on grade level in America’s public schools, we must put the focus on increasing academic achievement in our schools, so that we can truly unfold the full potential of every child.”