Dear Friends,
With the Easter/Passover season now behind us, we are entering the final five weeks of the 2026 legislative session. To date, it has been a stalemate of a session. With only five weeks remaining, it’s time for the partisan posturing to end so we can get things done for the people of Minnesota.
MY COLUMN FOR THIS WEEK - ALLOWING BIOLOGICAL MALES TO COMPETE IN FEMALE SCHOOL SPORTS IS NEITHER FAIR NOR SAFE
Recently, the State of Minnesota was sued by the U.S. Department of Justice for failing to comply with Title IX—the landmark federal law designed to give women athletes the right to equal opportunity in sports in educational institutions that receive federal funds, from elementary schools to colleges and universities.
According to the complaint, the Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota State High School League have adopted policies that force female athletes to compete against biological males in girls’ sports and allow access to private spaces such as locker rooms and bathrooms designated for girls. These policies, the lawsuit argues, undermine the very protections Title IX was created to guarantee.
I was part of the generation of girls and women that finally realized we had our own sports. Title IX was signed into law federally and girls’ basketball became an option in my school for the first time when I was a senior in high school. I joined the team. The confidence and essential life skills that experience gave me affected my life profoundly forever. Title IX did that for me, and I want every girl to have this opportunity.
A biologically born male is not a similar in any way to a female athlete. This is just basic science. The female body is physically and biologically different than the male body. Just look at the Minnesota State High School League record books, where you’ll find major differences between top scores in the boys and girls divisions, and you’ll see the proof. Male bodies outperform female bodies.
Allowing biological males to compete as females against young women and girls destroys the fundamental concept of what makes athletic competition fair and safe. Title IX was never meant to enable biological males with a different sense of gender to compete on female teams. Girls who have worked their entire lives to achieve a high level of skill in a sport have had their efforts literally taken away by a boy. This is neither right nor fair to our girls.
To address this state’s attack on Title IX, lawmakers debated the “Preserving Girls Sports Act” in the Minnesota House of Representatives this week. The bill reaffirms a simple principle: that girls’ sports should be reserved for biological females. It also establishes a clear, objective process for resolving eligibility disputes based on medical criteria such as anatomy, hormone levels, and chromosomes.
Despite this, the bill failed by a single vote. All Republican members supported the measure, while all Democratic members opposed it.
The bill does not prevent any student from participating in sports; it simply seeks to preserve fair competition within categories for male and female athletes that have long been separated for a reason.
Title IX was enacted to ensure that women and girls have equal opportunities in athletics, not to erase the distinctions that make those opportunities meaningful. Ignoring biological differences in competitive sports risks undermining decades of progress by placing female athletes at a disadvantage.
The federal government recognizes what Minnesota has done and is rightfully trying to enact change. Even the International Olympic Committee has decided biological males will no longer compete against female athletes. Yet Democrats in this state have turned the topic into a political football and have unbelievably landed on the side of supporting sex-based discrimination against girls’ athletes.
This is not just about polls – an 80-20 issue - or about the laws that we as a legislature make. This is a right and a wrong issue; it’s a basic biology issue that goes back to the creation of human beings who were created male and female.
I will always strive to do the right thing, and passing the “Preserving Girls Sports Act” is the right thing to do.
To hear my House floor comments on this topic, click here.
MINNESOTANS FOR HEALTH AND PARENTAL RIGHTS RALLY
On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to speak at the Minnesotans for Health and Parental Rights rally at the Capitol. It was awesome to see over 1,000 parents, kids, and families fill the Capitol rotunda to overflowing on all levels.
They were there to advocate for individuals to have the freedom to make personalized decisions for themselves and their families in areas such as medical treatment and education. Minnesotans deserve informed consent, and the right to choose their own medical treatments. Parents deserve the authority to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their children free from government overreach. Thank you to all those who attended!
LOCAL VISITS
I enjoyed an awesome meal recently for the ribeye carne astada plate fundraiser by Casa de Oracion in Albert Lea. Pastor Jose Alfredo, Pastora Cynthia, and crew are special friends. They put on an amazing meal.
If you weren’t able to take part in this meal, make sure to do so next time. You can eat in, take out, or have it delivered. You won’t be sorry!
Have a good weekend,
Peggy