Republicans should lock arms with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) to keep gender-dysphoric men out of women’s restrooms, a letter spearheaded by the American Principles Project (APP) urged Wednesday.
The APP letter, signed by more than two dozen prominent organizations, calls for Republican lawmakers to cosponsor Mace’s Protecting Women’s Private Spaces Act (H.R. 10186), legislation “which aims to ensure that female private facilities on all federal property remain spaces reserved exclusively for women, thereby protecting privacy, safety, and dignity in these environments.”
The organizations urge House leadership to move the bill quickly through committee and hold a vote as soon as possible in the new year, writing that “the need for maintaining these safe spaces for women and girls is self-evident.”
WATCH — Nancy Mace Rips Down Trans Flags Meant to Taunt Her Outside Capitol Bathroom:
Mace created a media firestorm November 18 announcing she would introduce a resolution that bathrooms in the U.S. Capitol assigned for use by a biological sex should only be used by members of that sex.
Later that week, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) publicly committed to enforcing the standard after privately telling House Republicans he would do so.
“It’s always been an unwritten policy and now it is in writing,” he said.
Mace doubled down on her effort, announcing her intent to introduce a bill to enforce the policy in all federal facilities, promising “this is just a start.”
She acknowledged her effort was sparked by the imminent arrival of Rep.-elect Sarah McBride (D-DE), a man who identifies as a woman. Many Democrats accused Mace, a survivor of rape and sexual assault, of bigotry. Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Ortez (D-NY) claimed Mace and her supporters were “endangering women and girls.”
Sarah McBride with the HRC Federal Club speaks during the 21st Annual HRC Nashville Equality Dinner honoring Kesha at the Renaissance Hotel on March 5, 2016, in Nashville, Tennessee. (Wade Payne/Invision/AP)
The coalition led by APP dismissed that notion, arguing that ignoring scientific facts has proven dangerous to women.
“Biology matters, and it is important for women to have female-exclusive facilities both to protect their privacy and also to deter potential predators,” their letter reads. “Unfortunately, we have seen too often that when authorities allow any individual who ‘identifies’ as a female to access women’s spaces, bad actors will take advantage of the opportunity.”
WATCH — Mom Who Says She Is Sexual Assault Survivor: Transgender Bathroom Policy Sets Girls Up for Abuse:
The letter highlights numerous documented cases of assaults on women and girls enabled policies allowing biological men in women’s restrooms and other private spaces. Most notoriously, in a Loudoun County, Virginia, high school, school district officials even attempted to cover up a sexual assault in a bathroom.
APP Protecting Womens Private Spaces Act Coalition Letter by jmanship on Scribd
Voters back Mace’s effort, according to polling cited by the letter:
A recent Napolitan News Service/RMG Research poll showed that 75 percent of registered voters oppose allowing “biological males who identify as women” to use women’s locker rooms, showers, and bathrooms, with just 13 percent supporting. A YouGov poll of battleground states similarly found large majorities of voters supporting the idea that “transgender people should be required to use the public restroom of the gender they were born into.”
“The American people have your backs, and so do we,” the letter’s authors pledge. “Let’s get this done.”
Rep.-elect McBride has attempted to downplay the issue of his sexuality.
“I’m not here to fight about bathrooms,” McBride said. “I’m here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families.”
That approach is unlikely to work for McBride and Democrats who might be uncomfortable — or see the political futility in — defending him.
The New York Times reported Wednesday on the effectiveness with which Republicans wielded attacks on Democrats’ transgender agenda and the haplessness of their attempts to pivot to other issues.
WATCH — “That’s Not OK!” Nancy Mace Doubles Down Against Gender-Dysphoric Men in Women’s Bathrooms:
The outlet said that aides to Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign in the weeks before Election Day “could see in campaign polling that Donald J. Trump’s attacks on Ms. Harris’s support for transgender rights were driving away swing voters.”
It continued, “Struggling to put together a rebuttal, they produced a series of ads arguing that Mr. Trump was trying to distract from more important issues… But none of the messages significantly swayed voters when the ads were tested with focus groups.”
Harris’s campaign soon dropped the ads.
Mace believes the issue is a winning one for Republicans, as evidence shows. With McBride arriving at the Capitol in January, Democrats will be unable to hide from the issue.
APP’s letter sends a clear message that Republicans need to get on board and deliver for Americans women and girls — and those who love them.
Joining American Principles Project President Terry Schilling in signing the letter are:
Jon Schweppe
Policy Director
American Principles Project
Kristen A. Ullman
President
Eagle Forum
Ryan Walker
Executive Vice President
Heritage Action
Dr. Kristine Severyn
Director
Girls Deserve Privacy
Craig DeRoche
President and CEO
Family Policy Alliance
The Honorable Jason Rapert
Founder & President
National Association of Christian Lawmakers
Tom McClusky
Director of Government Affairs
CatholicVote
Gary Bauer
President
American Values
Aaron Baer
President
Center for Christian Virtue
Katy Faust
Founder and President
Them Before Us
Rebecca Hain
Media Consultant
Stop Abusive and Violent Environments
Kim Miller
Founder and President
Arizona Women of Action
Candius Stearns
President
Michigan Eagle Forum
Rebecca Friedrichs
Founder
For Kids and Country
Mike Stenhouse
CEO
RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity
Jackie Homan
Founder
Greenwich Patriots
Tiffany Benson
Founder & Parental Rights Advocate
Restore Parental Rights in Education
Robert Paquette
President
The Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization
Linda Harvey
President
Mission America
Lisa Geraghty
Chair
Moms for Liberty, Howard County, Maryland
Rebecca Weber
CEO
Association of Mature Americans (AMAC)
Bob Carlstrom
President
AMAC Action
Paul Teller
Executive Vice President
Advancing American Freedom
John Shelton
Policy Director
Advancing American Freedom
Jonathan Saenz
President and Attorney
Texas Values
Wade Miller
Executive Director
Citizens for Renewing America
Corinne Johnson
President
Utah Parents United
Cindi Castilla
President
Texas Eagle Forum
Jill Dunican
Director
Scottsdale Unites for Educational Integrity
Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.