Riley Gaines and Paula Scanlan were in Mississippi!

Riley Gaines, a 12x All-American swimmer, and Paula Scanlan, a former teammate of Lia Thomas at UPenn, both with Independent Women’s Voice (IWV), were in Mississippi to talk about the need to craft sex-based protections for the 1.5 million women of Mississippi.

As a previous college athlete and a woman who cares deeply about pushing back on the woke gender ideology, I felt particularly honored to host Riley, Paula, and IWV in my home with a packed-house, standing room only crowd of amazing, energized women!

To talk about the fact that … women are women. The need to do so is clear evidence of cultural insanity, but sadly, such a need is urgent and real—even right here in Mississippi. 

Riley and Paula know what it’s like to have to compete against a man and to have to share a locker room with a man. Theirs are some of the most courageous female voices standing up for women in a way that, regrettably, is very much needed in 2023; but many, unfortunately, are scared to state the truth, the obvious, biological truth that a woman is a woman. That is because they know they will be attacked by a loud minority, of usually male, voices.

These women are fighters, and we are grateful for the very important work they and the Independent Women’s Forum are doing. And I’m grateful they took the time to join Mississippi women in our fight to pass the Women’s Bill of Rights.

What is the Women’s Bill of Rights?

With Riley and Paula by his side in front of the Governor’s mansion, Gov. Tate Reeves called for a Women’s Bill of Rights next session. That is great news.

In 2021, under the strong leadership of Senator Angela Hill, we all came together to help pass the Fairness Act, which prevented boys and men from competing in girls’ and womens’ sports in our state. However, language that would protect women’s safe spaces was stripped from that bill, leaving our bathrooms, locker rooms, sorority houses, dormitories, rape and abuse shelters, prisons, and other same sex spaces completely unprotected. Last session, similar safe spaces bills in the Republican super-majority MS House and Senate were shockingly killed before reaching a vote in either chamber. This law would simply put into law that a man is a man and a woman is a woman. Let me repeat it. That bill was killed. In Mississippi. 

I look forward to supporting such a bill next session and am praying we will all be by Governor Reeves’ side when he signs it into law next spring.

Are you willing to help this become law next year? Share this with your friends. Go to meetings or events where your local candidates for House or Senate are and ask them if they stand with women. Only one response is acceptable, and anyone who wants to serve in elected office should understand that. 

– Lesley