WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Our Bodies, Our Sports, the nation’s leading coalition of women’s advocacy organizations from across the political spectrum fighting for equal opportunity and fairness in women’s sports, applauds New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu for ensuring fair competition for the state’s female athletes by signing HB 1205 into law.
Our Bodies, Our Sports earlier delivered a coalition letter signed by its 12 member organizations urging Governor Chris Sununu to sign HB 1205 into law. The letter states, in part:
“We were encouraged that the General Court of New Hampshire passed HB 1205 which would ensure fair competition for the state’s female athletes, alongside access to safe, private spaces and equal opportunities outside athletics.
Women’s sports are important for self-esteem, teamwork, camaraderie, and grit, but sports cannot exist without fair competition. Nor can women’s sports survive a lack of safety and privacy. As the number of male athletes seeking to compete on women’s teams and in women’s events grows, the risks to female athletes also grow. Claims to the contrary deny science, defy logic, and undermine Title IX.”
Read the full coalition letter HERE.
Governor Sununu’s critical legislative action preserves equal athletic opportunity for New Hampshire women and girls ahead of the Biden administration’s new administrative rule, taking effect on August 1. By interpreting Title IX’s sex-based protections to apply to “gender identity,” the Biden administration’s rule would force schools to let males who identify as women take women’s scholarships and roster spots.
The bill comes on the heels of the Our Bodies, Our Sports “Take Back Title IX” Summer 2024 Bus Tour, which traveled throughout 30 states in 30 days during the month of June, building upon widespread support to protect women’s sports and educate the public on the consequences of the new Title IX rewrite. The tour featured prominent and decorated female athletes and women’s advocates calling for fair competition in their sport.
Riley Gaines, Independent Women’s Voice Ambassador, said: “In signing HB 1205, Governor Sununu is taking steps to prevent unjust sex discrimination and protect women’s rights, safety, and privacy in New Hampshire. I am grateful for his decisive action at such a critical time when the Biden administration’s unlawful Title IX rewrite threatens to undo fifty years of women’s rights to equal opportunity. But there is more to be done. Unfortunately, Gov. Sununu vetoed HB 396 which established protection for certain female-only spaces like locker rooms and prisons. With bills like that we can’t let perfect be the enemy of good. Let’s get this done next session!”
IWV is leading efforts to protect women’s sports:
- Independent Women’s Forum, IWV’s sister organization, organized the Our Bodies, Our Sports “Take Back Title IX” Summer 2024 Bus Tour. Visiting 30 states in 30 days, the tour traveled coast to coast this summer to expose the consequences of the Biden administration’s new Title IX regulations and activate supporters across the country to join the largest, most ideologically diverse, women’s movement of our time.
- IWV drove more than 20,000 public comments to the Department of Education opposing the Biden administration’s plan to gut Title IX.
- Independent Women’s Forum, IWV’s sister organization, and Independent Women’s Law Center have produced a first-of-its-kind report entitled, “Competition Report: Title IX, Male-Bodied Athletes, and the Threat To Women’s Sports,” to help athletic associations, policymakers, and courts understand the growing threat to female athletes.
- Learn more about IWF’s storytelling campaign to fight for fairness in women’s sports, which has amplified the stories of other female athletes who have felt compelled to lend their voice to the fight to save women’s sports and end the discrimination of women HERE.
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Independent Women’s Voice fights for women by expanding support for policy solutions that aren’t just well intended, but actually enhance freedom, opportunities, and well-being.