California Gov. Gavin Newsom does not like being on Donald Trump’s side on any issue.

But when it comes to transgender girls and women in sports, particularly at the school level, the Democrat said he largely agrees with the Republican president. Newsom, one of his party’s leading White House prospects, believes it’s “deeply unfair” for people who are assigned male at birth to compete against girls.

“I don’t want to be on that side of it, but I’m being honest — I’d be lying to you if I said differently,” Newsom told The Associated Press as he was campaigning recently in South Carolina. “I haven’t been able to figure out how to make it fair from my perspective.”

Newsom is not alone.

While most Democratic officials remain steadfast supporters of the transgender community, an increasing number in red and blue states are distancing themselves from their party’s unflinching support for the transgender community’s policy priorities, such as allowing athletes to compete on teams that match their gender identity. The shift follows years of conservative attacks against Democrats on the divisive issue, which affects a relatively small number of transgender people and their families, but has emerged as one of Republicans’ most potent political weapons in the Trump era.

  • aesthelete@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Why stop there? Let’s make sports very fair!

    If you can run faster, you get weighed down with bricks! If you can punch harder, you have to wear gloves!

    It’s funny to me of all of the things they think people can self-regulate, somehow sports aren’t among those. Somehow, we need genital inspectors.

    Somehow, the corporations that pollute our water and air can figure out what the right amount of pollution is without government oversight, but the girl’s tennis team at the local high school just can’t help themselves, they need the long arm of the federal government to intervene!

    This country is a foul joke.

  • hperrin@lemmy.ca
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    1 month ago

    Hey, maybe don’t cosplay a sports expert and let the actual sports experts decide the rules for their sport. You know, just a thought.

    • BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      Before they bowed down to Trump I think the NCAA had a fair policy. If an athlete had not gone through puberty as a male then they were eligible for the female division. Of course the bans on puberty blockers quickly made that a moot policy.

    • timbuck2themoon@sh.itjust.works
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      1 month ago

      Seems that easy.

      Sports have always been about fairness and not necessarily how everyone would want it framed according to gender, etc.

      There’s a reason there are weight classes in wrestling/boxing, multiple divisions in American football and other sports classed to the student population and reach of the school, etc. etc. It was always about having a level playing field as it does no one any good when a team/athlete just gets beaten down nonstop game after game.

      Just say “this is up to the sports authority to decide and government should not be involved.”

  • UltraGiGaGigantic@lemmy.ml
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    1 month ago

    One of the last things the biden admin did was take away gender affirming care from the trans kids of military members. That shit fucking sent me into a wall. Now here we are, watching the record be corrected right in front of us.

    Fuck Joe biden, fuck trump, fuck the USA. We dont have to be like this. We can have real choices at the voting booth.

    Conservatives probably want to vote differently as well. We need to give ourselves the freedom to pick what we needin life.

  • MrTomS@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    In what world is Newsom a leading Democratic prospect?!

    I’d put PBS up there with James Carvel on having their finger on the pulse of the democratic base.

    • UltraGiGaGigantic@lemmy.ml
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      1 month ago

      Give Newsom some time to shapeshift into something passable as human. Version 4.20 is gonna rock your socks off!

  • Flames5123@sh.itjust.works
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    1 month ago

    I haven’t been able to figure out how to make it fail from my perspective

    How about you don’t use your flawed perspective? Let’s use science and studies and data. Quote why you don’t think it’s fair… I wish politicians actually used their resources instead of this, “Well I think…” bullshit.

    • Nouvellalia@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      Caliber:

      the diameter of a bullet or other projectile.

      the diameter of a bore of a gun usually expressed in hundredths or thousandths of an inch and typically written as a decimal fraction

      I think they mean that the Democrats are choosing a bigger gun. Once sufficient to take us down.

  • BassTurd@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    The way California handled it at women’s state track this past season I think is a fair balance. There was a MTF gal that took second in some race, and she and another each got credit for second place. At least until a better solution comes up, I don’t see why that would be an issue.

    I can see an argument why that’s not fair to a trans individual for singling them out, but in that same vein there’s an argument about how a MTF may have biological advantages over the competition.

    If the above can’t be achieved, I think allowing trans in sports is the right call. As someone that was a competitive athlete, I have to admit that I didn’t just jump to this opinion and did have to reason with myself. I was never against it, but still had instinctive doubts.

    That’s not to defend Newsome at all, he’s a snake. Even if these are is true beliefs, that he doesn’t want to be on that side and perhaps it’s a moral dilemma he knows is wrong, he can absolutely do better than this.

    • cheese_greater@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      Its dumb that politicians are even involved in this non-issue, its the same with trans medical stuff, in what other areas would a sleazy politician ever be invited to dictate what happens between a person and their dr/medical care?

      There’s a parallel in these things that I feel gets missed in all the hubbub. Why are their opinions or attention warranted, much less demanded on either matter? Why so quick to praise one and condemn the other with the same hand.

      This is exactly the idiocy that led to Trump getting that dude’s yellow card yanked, apparently the President has executive discretion over international sporting events and bodies