Riley Gaines slams Biden Admin's Title IX trans protections as 'anti-woman' at launch of Republican legal challenge

Former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines has slammed new Biden administration rules boosting protections to LGBTQ+ students as 'anti-woman' and vowed to fight them in court with top Republican lawyers.

Gaines has joined nine Republican-led states and several conservative groups fighting new rules that bar federally-funded schools and colleges from discriminating against students based on their gender identity.

'Let's be clear, this is the most anti-woman, anti-reality pursuit we have seen from this administration thus far,' Gaines said in an online briefing on Tuesday.

By expanding protections to trans students, the Biden administration is making it easier for biological males to compete on sports teams for women and girls at schools and colleges, said Gaines.

Former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines called the Biden admin's rules an 'anti-woman, anti-reality pursuit'

The Biden administration's new Title IX rules were released on April 19 after months of delays

'Allowing males to compete and win women's sports is risky,' said the former Kentucky University swimmer.

'It is unfair. It is discriminatory and it is regressive. And it must stop.'

Gaines has become one of America's staunchest voices against allowing biological males to compete against women, after racing against and losing out to trans male-to-female competitor Lia Thomas in the 2022 NCAA Championships.

At least three federal lawsuits were filed on Monday seeking to have the new rules overturned.

Cases were filed in Alabama, Louisiana and Texas, with backing from the GOP-led states.

Tennessee and West Virginia also promised a 'multi-state response' on Tuesday.

The lawsuits are the first to challenge Biden's new Title IX rules, which expand protections to LGBTQ+ students and add safeguards for victims of sexual assault.

The policy was issued on April 19 and takes effect in August.

The US Department of Education says the rules clarify that the prohibition against sex-based discrimination contained in Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which forbids discrimination based on sex in education.

Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's lawsuit slammed a 'radical social change' to the nation's schools

Under the new rules, Title IX will also protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

The department cited a 2020 US Supreme Court ruling in favor of LGBTQ rights, under a different law.

Title IX applies to both public and private schools, nearly all of which nationally accept some form of federal funding.

In a lawsuit, filed on Monday, Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the 2020 Supreme Court decision was not relevant.

His lawsuit called it a federal overreach that attempts to bring 'radical social change' to the nation's schools.

The lawsuit, along with a separate one, filed by GOP state attorneys general in Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana and Idaho, argued the regulations unlawfully interpret Title IX in a way that conflicts with the statute's text.

Gaines lost out to trans male-to-female swimmer Lia Thomas in the 2022 NCAA Championships

They argue that it defines 'sex' as a person's biological sex.

A third lawsuit by Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and three advocacy groups, challenged that provision as well as parts of the regulations they said broadens the definition of sex-based harassment and required schools to overhaul how they address complaints.

The lawsuit said the new, broader ban against harassment would have the effect of forcing students to use someone's preferred pronouns or face the risk of investigation for misgendering someone.

The states said that unless the regulations are vacated, schools will be required to allow transgender students to use restrooms and locker rooms conforming to their gender identities.

Paxton filed his lawsuit in federal court in Amarillo, whose only active judge, US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, is an appointee of Republican former President Donald Trump who often rules against LGBTQ rights.

The Biden administration's new rules were proposed nearly two years ago, with a public comment period that drew a record 240,000 responses.

The policy rolls back many of the changes implemented during the Trump administration, which added more protections for students accused of sexual misconduct.