Arkansas Gov Sarah Sanders signs executive order in response to Biden's Title IX changes
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders signed an executive order on Thursday in response to President Biden's new Title IX regulations that added protections for transgender athletes.
Sanders said Thursday she was "appalled" by the "attack on common sense."
"According to the rule, sex is no longer based on the commonly understood biological differences between men and women," Sanders said. "It's based on how a person feels or their gender identity. To put it another way, Biden thinks anybody can be a woman just because they say so. As a woman, the mother of a daughter and our state's first chief executive to give birth … I can't think of anything more offensive or dismissive of the very real, very scientific traits that all women share and that no man does."
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"This issue goes far beyond a single locker room or a missed scholarship. The truth is important. Biology is important. The differences between men and women are important," she continued.
Sanders added that she won't let Biden "erase our existence as women."
Under the new rules, sex discrimination includes discrimination based on gender identity as well as sexual orientation. A school must not separate or treat people differently based on sex, except in limited circumstances, under the provisions, but critics say the change will allow locker rooms and bathrooms to be based on gender identity.
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The executive order states: "Educational institutions of Arkansas will continue to enforce state law guaranteeing the right of students to maintain their privacy. Students must not be forced to shower or undress with members of the opposite sex."
"Female students must not be denied equal athletic opportunities or forced to risk their safety by having biological males placed into female-designated sports leagues."
Six states sued the Department of Education due to the overhaul of Title IX this week. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman announced Tuesday that they are leading the charge.
"The U.S. Department of Education has no authority to let boys into girls’ locker rooms," Skrmetti said in a statement.
The Department of Education sent Fox News Digital a statement that said "the Department does not comment on pending litigation."
Fox News' Michael Dorgan and Joshua Nelson contributed to this report.
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