When hundreds of Virginia students left classrooms this week to protest Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s effort to scale back pro-transgender policies in schools, it was heralded by some media outlets as a slam-dunk sign that teenage LGBT rights have won out.
But coming on the anniversary of when former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe blew his chance in the 2021 election battle with Youngkin by suggesting parents shouldn’t tell schools what to do, it reminded others that the issue is far from closed.
YOUNGKIN DEFENDS POLICIES ON TRANSGENDER STUDENTS, SAYS PARENTS MUST BE INCLUDED
In fact, Youngkin’s office sent Secrets a handful of stories about parents walking out of school board meetings across the commonwealth to protest proposed policies to give transgender students new rights, such as the right to enter bathrooms or participate in sports as their desired sex, not the one “assigned at birth.”
With the Biden administration pushing a liberal policy change to Title IX to let transgender college students go either way in sports and other activities, the issue is becoming a hot one leading up to the midterm congressional elections.
And as much as the media want the students to win, new polling shared exclusively with Secrets found overwhelming opposition to liberal gender rule changes. Importantly, with the elections just over five weeks away, most voters would punish candidates who promote biological boys competing in girls’ sports, as former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas did.
The Sept. 14-18 CRC Research national survey was somewhat large: 1,600 likely voters, split 52% women and 48% men. Its margin of error of plus or minus 2.45 percentage points didn’t come into play much because the gaps were so large.
On the basic question of letting men participate in women’s sports, the margin was over 2-1. Asked about President Joe Biden’s plan to reform Title IX, 63% said they oppose it and 25% said they support it. Among those most passionate about the issue, 49% said they strongly oppose the changes, compared to 11% who strongly support them.
Only Biden Democrats back the Biden plan, and by a hair: 44% to 41%. Nearly all Republicans, 85%, oppose it.
A key reason, as Thomas found out, is that most believe letting men compete with women undermines the achievements of women and Title IX itself.
When asked if they agree or disagree that “the transgender movement undermines significant opportunities and essential protections for women,” 57% agreed and 29% didn’t, according to the CRC Research results.
What is surprising in those results is that Democrats agreed, 45%-36%, that the changes hurt women.
Nationally, the survey found that the issue could be a political loser for trans fans. By a 62%-24% margin, voters said they would be less likely to support a candidate who backs allowing men in women’s sports.
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The traditionalist grassroots group Parents Defending Education said the results suggest Biden and liberal school districts are moving too far too fast.
“These figures highlight how deeply out of touch the Biden administration’s proposed rules are with the vast majority of the population,” PDE said.
