“No one asked for our consent,” Riley Gaines flames Democrat Senator for putting women’s safety in jeopardy with Lia Thomas locker room situation
Riley Gaines fights for the rights of biological women in front of a Senate.
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(L) Riley Gaines and (R) Lia Thomas (Image via Yahoo News/Yahoo Sports)
Former All-American swimmer Riley Gaines appeared before Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin on Wednesday. This Senate has been set up to pass a hearing after issues were raised by Gaines and fellow biological women. They felt the need to change in the janitor’s closet rather than the locker room because of the presence of transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.
Senator Durbin tried to justify the situation by stating that transgender youth are the most at risk of “homelessness, depression and death by suicide.” Gaines replied to the Senator’s opening statement by saying: “You had mentioned that, what message does it send to trans individuals? And my comeback to that is, what message does this send to women, to young girls, who are denied of these opportunities?”
“So easily, their rights to privacy and safety thrown out of the window to protect a small population, protect one group as long as they’re happy,” she said. Gaines asked about the rest of the biological women who had to suffer the consequences of protecting one group. Gaines also forth the locker room situation by saying,“Let me be clear about this: we were not forewarned we would be sharing a locker room. No one asked for our consent and we did not give our consent.”
Durbin then replied that there was no evidence that transgender women dominated biological women in any sport. He even mentioned that the International Olympic Committee had allowed transgender women to participate since 2004, but not a single one has won any medals.
Riley Gaines doesn’t want to completely ban transgender women from participating in any sport
Riley Gaines started a campaign against transgender women in 2023 after she tied for fifth place with trans swimmer Lia Thomas. In the Senate hearing, Gaines said, “I don’t believe trans athletes should be banned from sports. I just want everyone to compete where it’s fair and where it’s safe, and I don’t understand how that’s overly controversial.”
The University of Kentucky alum also added that the presence of trans women equipped with male genitalia was too much for biological women. They felt extremely conscious and uncomfortable while changing in front of Lia Thomas during the 2022 NCAA tournament.
Gaines said that women changed in the janitor’s closet because it was a safer environment for them. The women felt violated by changing in front of a trans woman. Lia Thomas identified as a male swimmer while swimming for the University of Pennsylvania.
It does seem a bit unfair for biological women to compete and then change in front of trans women. The final hearing of the Senate is yet to be held and it’ll be interesting to see what decision is made by the Senate.
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Yash Karandekar
(1023 Articles Published)