Dear editor:

Our rights as male and female are under attack, not by the right or the left, but by ignorance, misguided/manipulated information and censorship. In Wyoming, the majority stands firm for equality, the constitution and parental rights. 

Please understand that this is not an attack on transgender people, nor am I endorsing harassment or any form of discrimination. This is to make our community aware that the issue is much larger than a transgender youth using a bathroom according to her gender identity instead of biological sex. A father of a 12-year-old just lost a court battle that now allows his ex-wife to give consent for his son to have “gender-affirming care.” Anything from hormone replacement to surgically removing male genitalia. The 12-year-old’s mother relocated to California, where 2,083 gender reassignment procedures have been done. 

Censorship of scientific research became rampant with COVID-19 and continues to this day. The new way of thinking has moved from science to ideology. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is using Title IX (the right not to be discriminated against) to take away male and female rights to separate biological sex restrooms, locker rooms and sports by allowing gender identity to dictate based on the belief that discriminates against transgender people. 

Males and females are biological identifiers backed by science, not ideology.  Gender is psychological and subject to change. Gender is beliefs about who one is and how one wants to act and be perceived in society. Gender does not change biological sex, but interventions can influence it. Wyoming has passed legislation to make it illegal to perform gender-affirming surgery on minors and a bill supporting parental rights in education. However, both bills have loopholes; please find the SF0099 and SF0009 bills for your review. The loopholes are not without merit but can be used to take away parental rights and do life-changing harm to our youth. 

When we empower and support our youth, our children will feel valued, loved and accepted for who they are. A young female who chooses to wear jeans, rides and ropes like her daddy might like to pursue a degree in engineering, but it does not mean she is a boy. This means that she is growing up in 2024 and has every option available to her. 

Thirteen thousand nine hundred ninety-four minor children received some gender reassignment treatment between 2019 and 2023 in the United States. Do No Harm is a nonprofit group “fighting to curtail the unscientific and individually harmful practice of so-called ‘gender-affirming care’ for children.” 

“Gender-affirming care is based on the dangerous premise that any child who has distress that they think is related to their sex should automatically be treated with the social transition to the sex of their choice, followed by possible surgery to remove healthy body parts.” (Do No Harm Staff, 2024) 

Being informed is one way to stop the misuse and manipulation of information, but we must also work on the offensive; the ACLU is not alone in its mission. Title IX, the 1972 sex discrimination law, has been changed by the Biden administration and now has banned discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. However, the law is being manipulated to discriminate against women’s rights. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) introduced a bill to ban Sarah McBride from using the bathroom that corresponds with her gender identity. If Sarah is permitted, based on these laws, to use the ladies’ restroom, this ruling will set a precedent.  

Should we trust our elected officials with this topic, or should we ensure that they follow the will of Wyoming residents? 

 Yolanda Smith

Powell