Never underestimate the love of a grandparent!
Her name is Kairi; she was born just a mere ten years ago this month. Her arrival was foretold Terri and I by her parents and immediately I began a new season of life. I began writing to her in a journal I was able to present her at her dedication. She will one day read the scriptures, prayers and promises from God’s word which I wrote to her reminding her that the creator of the universe has a very special plan for her life. From the day of her birth until the moment of this very writing I have thought of her, prayed for her and loved her dearly as every grandpa reading this column does his own grandchild. Never underestimate the love of a grandparent!
You can perhaps imagine the utter disbelief and outrage when a number of years ago we in America began to see boys who identify as girls seeking to participate in girls’ sports. Now my sweet little granddaughter plays soccer, and at her age boys and girls play together. That’s one thing, but there will come a day when she gets older and the competition gets more intense that she will play with those who are biological girls. There is a deep love for every person in the heart of a follower of Jesus Christ, especially those who through diverse circumstances find themselves questioning their sexuality. Please know that the fact remains that God created humankind male and female which since creation was determined at birth.
I so very much appreciate my good friend Jena Powell, State Representative for Ohio’s 80th district, who led the charge and in the Ohio House of Representatives passing the “Save Women in Sports Act.” “This bill is about ensuring every little girl can achieve her athletic dream in Ohio,” said Powell. “These girls deserve a fair shot and to be given the chance to play and win by the rules in the sports that they love.” It was incredibly telling as Representative Powell had to endure a number of Democrats who jeered and pounded their desks during her floor speech explaining the bill. I stand with Representative Powell and every state that has bravely passed legislation this year protecting young girls in America who live to play sports, like my granddaughter. Never underestimate the love of a grandparent!
According to the Family Research Council. “There is a reason why, even when discrimination based on sex is outlawed, we still allow separate sports teams (not to mention separate bathrooms, locker rooms, and showers) for males and females. That reason has nothing to do with their psychological “gender identity.” Instead, it has everything to do with the fact that males and females have different anatomies from birth, with those differences accentuated after puberty. The average man is larger, stronger, and faster than the average woman, so women would simply have no chance of reaching elite levels of competition if forced to compete against men.
Connecticut track star Selena Soule says of her male competition, “I fully support them for being true to themselves and having the courage to do what they believe in,” But athletics is “an entirely different situation. It’s scientifically proven that males are built to be physically stronger than females. It’s unfair to put someone who is biologically a male, who has not undergone anything in terms of hormone therapy, against cis-gender girls… It’s upsetting when we work hard all season and put in a lot of effort, only to turn up at the state meets and get beat by someone who is biologically a male and lose state championships over this.”
Female high school track athletes in one state alone (Connecticut) have lost 15 medals to biological males in state competition in the last two years — reducing their chances for college athletic scholarships in the process. Tennis pro Martina Navratilova has been a great ally for the LGBT movement, but she had no problem blasting the radical ideology that’s killing sports and healthy competition. “It’s punishing the innocent,” she wrote indignantly, “and it’s insane.”
As my friends at Alliance Defending Freedom have said recently… “Activists are pushing policies that allow men who identify as women to invade female spaces. Now this mindset is infiltrating the world of sports—and it’s affecting young women across the country. These policies are robbing girls of athletic opportunities, dreams of competing at the next level, and even potential scholarships. When the law ignores reality, people get hurt.” I plan on attending each and every soccer game, track meet, basketball game or whatever sporting event Kairi participates in as long as I am able. I, along with most Americans, want the playing field to be safe and fair! Never, I mean never underestimate the love of a grandparent!