Resolution Filed By Tennessee State Senator Supports Federal Legislation That Would Preserve Title IX

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The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –

A resolution filed by Tennessee State Senator Jack Johnson (R-Franklin-District 27) supports potential legislation being enacted at the federal level to preserve Title IX.

SJR 0589 (SJR0589) affirms “Tennessee’s commitment to fairness, safety, and equal opportunity in women’s sports” and urges “federal action to preserve the original intent of Title IX.”

The text of the resolution states that “there are inherent and enduring biological differences between males and females that put males at a competitive advantage in sports and jeopardize women’s safety and privacy when they are forced to compete against males.”

Pointing out that “Title IX’s protections have historically recognized the biological differences between males and females, including the permissibility of sex-specific athletic teams in educational institutions, in order to ensure equal opportunities for women and girls” and that “maintaining separate sex-specific teams furthers the goal of sex equality by providing female athletes opportunities to demonstrate their skill, strength, and athletic abilities while also providing opportunities to obtain recognition, accolades, college scholarships, and the numerous other long-term benefits that flow from success in athletic endeavors.”

The resolution states that allowing men to compete as women “reverses more than fifty years of progress for women.”

The resolution then goes on to say that both “science and common sense tell us that males generally have larger bodies, larger hearts and lungs, denser bones, and greater muscle mass and strength than females, giving them a competitive advantage that cannot be eliminated through testosterone suppression” before listing the outcomes in different states where trans individuals were allowed to compete as female.

In 2021, Tennessee’s Women’s Sports Act was enacted, making the state one of more than half of the states in the U.S. to pass similar legislation that protects fairness in women’s sports by making sure that participation is based on biological sex.

Should the resolution pass, a certified copy would be sent to President Donald Trump, the Speaker and the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, the President and the Secretary of the United States Senate, and each member of the Tennessee Congressional delegation.