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Less than two minutes passed and the mention of the word “men” silenced me. I had barely introduced myself and an interlocutor accused me of committing the alleged crime of “gender confusion” by using the phrase “men in women's sports.”
In August 2023, I was invited to the Yolo County Library in California to speak at an event called “Girls' Fair and Safe Sports Forum.” As a former college soccer player, I am passionate about protecting women's sports from the invasion of male athletes and welcomed the opportunity to join Moms for Liberty and other women advocates to openly discuss a relevant cultural issue.
But the only thing I could share was my dream of being a college soccer player since I was 10 years old and how girls today can lose the opportunity to achieve their athletic dreams by being forced to compete against boys.
Sophia Lorey is a former college soccer player and currently serves as Outreach Director for the California Family Council.
Library officials shut down the forum after just a few minutes, claiming that referring to male athletes in women's sports as “men” violated library policy.
WE HAVE SEEN HOW DANGEROUS IT IS FOR MEN TO COMPETE AGAINST WOMEN, AND WE DEFEND FAIR COMPETITION
Should men compete in women's sports? That is a central question in our culture. One that demands honest dialogue and robust debate. Unfortunately, simply saying “men competing in women's sports” is enough to get you censored. Or as I discovered, it's also enough to get you kicked out of a public library.
It is now common for radical activists to shut down all debate on topics they don't agree with or like. To silence the truth.
This is not American and it is certainly not constitutional.
So, with legal help from the Alliance Defending Freedom and the Institute for Free Speech, I joined other women's advocates in filing a lawsuit against library officials for violating our First Amendment rights.
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Women have the right to talk about our concerns about being erased. Women have the right to express our discomfort at being put in unsafe situations because men are allowed access to our bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports. Women have the right to defend biological reality and truth.
And fortunately, we are on the right side of the law. This week, we won a critical legal victory and reached a favorable settlement of our case with library officials.
As part of the settlement agreement, library officials agreed to change their policy to require that staff “will not interfere with presentations or other speeches from individuals or groups who have reserved meeting rooms according to the content of such speech” and instructing staff to “restrict any disruptive behavior” during events.
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Importantly, library officials also agreed to allow us women to hold a repeat event, after turning off the lights the first time. On April 13, we successfully held an open debate in the library on equity in women's sports.
It is my hope that other public officials – whether in libraries, schools, or legislatures – will see this as an opportunity to take a strong stance in support of the speech and assembly rights of all Americans. You don't have to agree with me on whether men should be allowed to participate in women's sports; but we should all I agree to my right to express my opinion, just like any other American.
My voice was a little shaky that August day when I stood up in the library and faced a room full of people dressed in shirts and holding signs with opinions that opposed my own. But I knew I had the right to be there and speak, the right to express my views and listen to theirs.
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This is how we will advance good policy in America: by encouraging open dialogue and vigorous debate on critically important issues.
This is a win for everyone.
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