Middle School Girls Barred From Track Meet for Refusing to Compete Against Biological Male

LGBT, ,

Five middle school girls have been banned from competing in track and field in West Virginia after declining to compete against a biological male in shot put earlier this month. The male athlete reportedly placed first at the Harrison County Championships track meet on April 18 with a 32-foot, nine-inch throw — beating the second place competitor by more than three feet.

The students’ families have filed a lawsuit, alleging they are being unconstitutionally punished for exercising their freedom of speech. The lawsuit notes:

On April 18, 2024, the minor student athletes attended the 2024 Harrison County Middle School Championships track and field meet at Liberty High School and were scheduled to compete in shot put. The transgender student . . . was present at the meet and competing against the minor student athletes in shot put.

The minor student athletes, along with one other female student from Lincoln Middle School, stepped out of the shot put circle, forfeited, and refused to compete in protest of the court decision and the ongoing unfairness of permitting a biological male to compete in women’s sporting events.

The minor student athletes’ protests were silent. They each stepped into the shot put circle, raised the shot put to their chins, and then stepped out of the shot put circle and handed the shot put to the official.

The minor student athletes’ individual protests lasted approximately 10 seconds each and did not disrupt the track meet in any way.

The minor student athletes’ protest did not affect any other competitors.

Following their protest, the minor student athletes did not receive any notice that further action would be taken against them for protesting and forfeiting.

We have written repeatedly about how women’s athletics is at risk of being erased in America.

In particular, female cyclists, swimmers, powerlifters, sprinters, and others have seen their sports radically changed by biological males who identify and compete as women.

Letting men compete in women’s sports reverses 50 years of advancements for women.

It hampers girls’ abilities to compete for athletic scholarships, and it hurts their professional opportunities as adults.

In some sports, it can even be dangerous.

That’s part of the reason why the North American Grappling Association clarified its competition policy last fall, saying biological males must compete against other men, regardless of their gender identity.

Earlier this year the professional golf league NXXT Golf announced that only biological females would be eligible to participate in the NXXT Women’s Pro Tour.

And recently the NAIA announced a policy that should prevent male athletes from competing in women’s collegiate sports.

Many states — including Arkansas — have enacted laws that preserve fairness in women’s sports.

In 2021 Arkansas passed Act 461 by Sen. Missy Irvin (R — Mountain View) and Rep. Sonia Barker (R — Smackover) preventing male student athletes from competing against girls in women’s athletics at school.

This good law protects fairness in women’s sports in Arkansas.

It’s worth point out that public opinion is shifting on this issue, with more Americans agreeing that athletes ought to compete according to their biological sex rather than their gender identity. 

Public opinion supports laws and policies preserving women’s sports. These laws protect women’s sports from being erased, and they help make sure students like these middle schoolers from West Virginia get a fair competition. There shouldn’t be anything controversial about that.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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“Psychosis is an Increasing Risk of Today’s Strong Marijuana”: Psychology Today

Marijuana

On Monday Psychology Today published an article highlighting the growing risk of psychosis linked to high-potency marijuana.

According to research cited in the article:

  • Young adults and teens can develop an addiction to weed and become psychotic.
  • Many people don’t know that regular marijuana use may carry serious health risks, especially for the young.
  • No medication is FDA-approved for treating cannabis use disorder.
  • One cannabis-induced psychotic episode ups the risk of developing bipolar disorder or schizophrenia by 50%.

Nationwide, since 2019, the number of kids diagnosed with cannabis-induced mental disorders, including schizophrenia and psychotic episodes, has increased by 50%.

Legalization is tied to increased marijuana use among teenagers. 

Researchers have found marijuana use during adolescence is associated with an increased risk for psychiatric disorders and cognitive problems. 

A report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found a disturbing 46% increase in self-harm rates among men aged 21 to 39 in states where marijuana sales were legalized.

Across the board, media outlets have repeatedly reported that legalization of marijuana has fueled black market operations rather than reducing them — emboldening drug cartels that operate industrial scale marijuana cultivation sites.

All of this comes as Arkansans for Patient Access is actively working to expand marijuana in Arkansas.

In March the group backing a marijuana in Arkansas raised more than $565,000 to place their marijuana amendment on the November ballot, according to reports filed with the Arkansas Ethics Commission.

The group has until July 5 to collect 90,704 petition signatures from registered voters to place the marijuana amendment on the ballot.

Most of the money the group raised in March appears to have come from marijuana growers and sellers.

The amendment would drastically expand Arkansas’ medical marijuana law to enable recreational marijuana statewide. 

If passed, the amendment would guarantee marijuana growers and sellers a monopoly over the state’s marijuana industry.

The amendment would give free marijuana cards to immigrants and out-of-state residents who come to Arkansas.

Marijuana users would no longer need to show they suffer from a specific medical condition listed in state law. People would be able to grow and use marijuana at home.

It also repeals restrictions on marijuana advertising.

Arkansas voters rejected marijuana legalization at the ballot box in 2022. That amendment was opposed by a broad coalition of churches, business groups, elected officials, and citizens who knew that marijuana would be bad for Arkansas. We anticipate similar opposition to the 2024 marijuana amendment.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Arkansas A.G. Joins Letter Asking Bank of America to Come Clean About Debanking

Religious Freedom, , ,

Earlier this month Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin signed a letter alongside 14 other state attorneys general asking Bank of America to come clean about its “debanking” practices.

The letter says,

Bank of America appears to be conditioning access to its services on customers having the bank’s preferred religious or political views. This is inconsistent with your bank’s promise to uphold “the highest standards of corporate governance and ethical conduct[, including] efforts to always do business the right way for [its] customers.”1 Surely Bank of America would not say that denying service to clients for exercising their civil liberties is doing “business the right way for [its] customers.”

Your discriminatory behavior is a serious threat to free speech and religious freedom, is potentially illegal, and is causing political and regulatory backlash. Your bank needs to be transparent with and assure us, its shareholders, and others that it will not continue to de-bank customers for their speech or religious exercise

The letter goes on to cite past examples of politicized debanking — and how debanking may run afoul of the law.

Family Council has written repeatedly about how de-banking hurts charities, conservative causes, and people of faith.

For example, in 2021, our credit card processor — a company owned by Chase Bank — canceled our account with virtually no notice and no explanation.

In 2022, Chase abruptly closed the account of Ambassador Sam Brownback’s National Committee for Religious Freedom with little warning or explanation, and PayPal similarly disabled the account of a group called the Free Speech Union.

Last month the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee and the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government released a report indicating the federal government actually weaponized banks against conservatives following the events of January 6, 2021.

The report shows that federal law enforcement officials from the Treasury Department and the FBI quietly contacted financial institutions to discuss ways financial institutions could share customer information with federal law enforcement outside of normal legal processes.

The U.S. Treasury Department gave banks and other financial institutions guiding “typologies” — patterns that could be used to identify suspicious people or activities — including search terms and patterns like “TRUMP” and “MAGA.”

The Treasury also encouraged financial institutions to comb through transactions for terms like, “Bass Pro Shops,” “Cabela’s,” and “Dick’s Sporting Goods” when looking for “Homegrown Violent Extremism.”

The report further revealed the Treasury Department provided banks and financial institutions with information listing legitimate, conservative groups such as Alliance Defending Freedom, American Family Association, Family Research Council, and many others as “Hate Groups” alongside the KKK and the American Nazi Party.

And last month testimony at congressional committee meetings further explained how banks and other financial institutions may abuse their power.

It is nearly impossible for a church, business, charity, or family to function in modern American society without a bank account. That’s one of the reasons why there are so many laws regulating the banking industry — and it’s part of the reason why debanking is so dangerous.

Nobody should have their bank account canceled because of what they believe.

We appreciate Attorney General Griffin’s willingness to stand up for transparency and accountability at Bank of America and in the financial industry.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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