Democratic voters abandon party after AOC, Jeffries says anti-trans athlete law empowers children of sexual predators

Democratic lawmakers in Washington, DC last week opposed the GOP-led Women and Girls in Sports Protection Act with baseless arguments that the bill would enable sexual predators give genital examinations to young girls.

This argument is not rooted in any language in the bill, as Republicans insisted that no genital inspection would ever be necessary and that proof of gender could simply be established by a birth certificate.

Still, many prominent Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., have used the sexual predator argument in statements and during House testimony.

This tactic alienated some of the party’s voters, who in response deregistered as Democrats.

Distinguished law professor Gary Francione has been a lifelong Democrat since the 1960s. In November, he voted for Kamala Harris and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., who was one of 206 Democrats who voted against the bill last Tuesday.

But Francione, who is an advocate for LGBTQ rights, abortion rights and even a vegan and animal rights abolitionist, was so offended by Democratic representatives who tried to link the bill to empowering child predators that he withdrew as a Democrat after last Tuesday’s hearing.

“It just really upset me because it screamed a lack of integrity, a lack of honesty,” Francione told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. “This is how you fight battles? Trying to insult other people who oppose and disagree with you and insinuate that they are child abusers or pedophiles? It seems to me that you have lost the game… I don’t know how I will ever come back from of this.”

Francione has a lifelong network of other Democrats in law and other industries, and he says many of them share his beliefs and will also disaffiliate from the party.

“I can confidently say from the people that I know who are Democrats that I’ve talked to, the vast majority of them are very unhappy about all of these things and feel that the party has lost its way,” Francione said. “I know a couple who said they would [unregister].”

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Francione initially announced his departure from the party in a viral post on Xu over the weekend. Many of his thousands of followers responded by insisting that they would follow his example and quit the party in response to an attempt by congressional representatives to link the bill to the empowerment of sexual predators.

“I did this. That’s when I drew the line and replaced the registration,” one user replied.

“I know the feeling. They make you do it. Welcome to the club,” wrote another.

Francione believes the premise of allowing trans athletes to compete against women is “discriminatory” against girls and women, and went so far as to call Democrats’ argument against the bill “crazy” and “irresponsible.”

“I thought it was very unfair to a large number of very decent people who are concerned about fairness and safety in women’s sport,” he said. “These young girls, they train hard, they work hard, and then men take their things away!”

Even former American Olympic cyclist Inga Thompson he admitted in a recent interview that even though she is a lifelong Democrat, she had her hopes up for President-elect Donald Trump because of his stance on protecting women and girls in sports.

Several Democratic representatives in Congress have decided to call the Women and Girls in Sports Protection Act the “Republican House of Representatives Child Predator Empowerment Act.” These individuals include Jeffries, Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Vt.; Rep. Suzanne Bonamic, D-Ore.; Tail. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla.; Tail. Whip Clark, D-Mass.; and many of the other 206 Democrats who voted against the bill.

Ocasio-Cortez fired the fact that there is no language in the bill suggesting that any child would be subjected to a genital inspection during its debate.

“The majority now say that there is no place in this bill to open a genital examination. Well, there is no enforcement mechanism in this law. And when there is no enforcement mechanism, you open the door to any enforcement mechanism!” Ocasio-Cortez said.

Ocasio-Cortez later declared, “Trans girls are girls!”

But many Democrats who opposed the bill strongly opposed it on the unsubstantiated premise that it would empower sexual predators without even advocating for the right of trans athletes to compete in women’s sports, as enabling trans inclusion became a deeply unpopular position in the election. in November.

Tail. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., was one of those who took that view. Moulton has previously said he believes Democrats’ advocacy for trans inclusion is the issue that cost them in November, and has repeatedly defended his anti-trans inclusion stance despite opposition from those in his party and state in the weeks following the victory of President Donald Trump and Republicans. majority in the House and Senate.

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But Moulton still voted against the bill on Tuesday, saying he didn’t want children to be “subjected to the invasive violation of personal privacy that this bill allows.”

Only two Democrats joined the Republican majority in voting for the bill, Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, and Vicente Gonzales, D-Texas. Their decision to break with the rest of the party and vote to protect women and girls in sport reflects the growing widespread position of many voters in their party and independent voters, according to recent figures.

Recent New York Times/Ipsos survey found that a large majority of Americans, including most Democrats, do not think transgender athletes should be allowed to compete in women’s sports. Of the 2,128 people who took part, 79% said biological males who identify as female should not be allowed to participate in women’s sports. Of the 1,025 people who identified as Democrats or Democratic-leaning, 67% said transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete against women.

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Shortly after the elections in November, a national exit poll conducted by the legislative action committee of Concerned Women for America (CWA) found that 70% of moderate voters see a problem with “Donald Trump’s opposition to transgender boys and men who play women’s and women’s sports and transgender boys and men who use girls’ and women’s sports.” . bathrooms” as important to them.

And 6% said it was the most important issue of all, while 44% said it was “very important.”

Francione is one of many longtime Democratic voters who believe lawmakers in his party have failed to deliver on the will of their constituents on this issue.

“Progressives failed!” he added. “Progressives created the Olympics for complaints… and it doesn’t work!”

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