The state of Idaho is on a roll when it comes to pushing against LGBT ideology.
In April 2020, Idaho became the first state to enact legislation that prevented transgender-identifying athletes from participating in girls and women’s sports. The Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, signed by Idaho Gov. Brad Little, a Republican, declared it “a violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 for federally funded education programs or activities to operate, sponsor, or facilitate athletic programs or activities that allow individuals of the male sex to participate in programs or activities that are designated for women or girls.”
That same month, Little signed a bill “that prohibits transgender people from changing their birth certificates to match their gender identities,” The New York Times reported. Last month, the governor signed House Bill 668, which blocks the use of public funds for gender-affirming procedures.
As NewsNation stated, “Since being elected governor in 2019, Little has signed at least half a dozen laws” that fight to protect women and biological realities. And this week, Little signed two more bills as wins for common sense.
House Bill 538 was signed on Monday, which stipulates that schools cannot require staff or students to use preferred pronouns or names. The second, signed on Tuesday, was House Bill 421. It states, “In human beings, there are two, and only two, sexes: male and female. In no case is an individual’s sex determined by stipulation or self-identification.” Most notably, in addition to ruling that sex and gender were synonymous, this bill “codifies in state law biological definitions for ‘woman,’ ‘man,’ and other sex-based terms, making [Idaho] the fifth to exclude men who identify as women from being legally recognized as female.”
According to The Washington Times, states that adopted similar legislation in the past year are Kansas, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Nebraska. And states such as Alabama, Arizona, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi have related bills on their radars.
These bills were strongly supported Idaho Republicans, but in no way were they spared from backlash. The left-wing American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho condemned the passing of House Bill 668 last month, stating it was a “cave-in to the hateful demands of far-right extremists at the expense of the safety, security, and health of Idaho’s transgender community.”
Additionally, it posted on X, “Idaho’s legislators are using LGBTQ+ people, communities of color, and immigrants as political scapegoats, creating a less inclusive, less safe, and less vigorous Idaho. It is supremely un-American, and we will not stop resisting.” The same day as that post, LGBT activists dropped 48,000 paper hearts in the Idaho Capitol as a form of protest.
But despite this backlash, many are celebrating the bills that further protect biological truth and the right to free speech.
Riley Gaines, a former NCAA swimmer and a prominent voice in the fight to protect women, shared on X, “Thanks to [Gov. Little] for his decisive action signing HB 421 into law to fundamentally define what everyone already knows.”
Adding to the celebration, Independent Women’s Voice, a conservative nonprofit, wrote in a statement, “Idaho’s HB 421 is an important step in helping to preserve single-sex spaces that ensure privacy, safety, and equal opportunity.”
Jennifer Braceras, Independent Women’s Voice vice president of legal affairs, added, “Using the term ‘gender’ to mean biological sex is confusing and misleading. Legislators must say what they mean, and judges and unelected bureaucrats must not twist the meaning of scientific terms to undermine the rights of women and girls.”
The statement concluded, “Independent Women’s Voice commends the legislators who supported the bill and calls on legislators to avoid conflating ‘sex’ with ‘gender’ in state law where possible.”
In addition, Doreen Denny, senior adviser at Concerned Women for America, shared this statement with The Washington Stand:
Idaho has been a leader in taking a stand against gender activism. In 2020, Idaho Rep. Barbara Ehardt led passage of the first Save Women’s Sports law at the state level paving the way for the dozens of states that have followed. These latest bills signed by Idaho Gov. Brad Little respond to the pressing need for clarity about the unchangeable truth of being male and female.
Law and policy must be clear about the meaning of sex. Legal protections against coercive policies requiring allegiance to preferred pronouns and other gender ideology mandates imposed by the Biden administration are actions states can no longer ignore. We applaud Idaho and other states acting to shield schools, sports, and citizens from a radical gender agenda harming women and children.
