Transgender Athletes Hurt Women’s Sports

Dear Editor,

Texas is divided as an 18-year-old transgender individual has won the state girls wrestling championship.

Mack Beggs was born a female and now identifies as a male.  Beggs has undergone preliminary gender reassignment, which involves steroid treatment.  Some in the sidelines cheered with enthusiasm as Mack pinned each competitor.  Others loudly booed.

Beggs won two years in a row.  Last year Beggs responded to the controversy by stating he would prefer to compete as a male on a men’s team. On the surface, this seems like a logical win-win for all involved.  It would allow Beggs to live a male lifestyle.  It would allow female competitors to face individuals that do not use performance enhancing steroids.  The reality is that all of the alternatives in the current calculus are dangerous to women’s sports.

The State of Texas has two policy alternatives.  It must either allow females who identify as males – transgender males – to compete against female athletes or allow males who identify as females, transgender females, to compete against female athletes.  The transgender male athlete competing in women’s sports will have the advantage of legally allowed performance enhancing steroids.  The transgender female competing in women’s sports will have the advantage of decades of muscular development enhanced by natural testosterone.

Regardless of the state’s policy decision, women’s sports will suffer.  We will continue to see growing numbers of either transgender males winning against natural born females or transgender females winning against natural born females.

Many individuals are falsely heralding this trend as a natural extension of the civil rights movement.  The courts have issued decisions based on personal ideologies.  There is little evidence supporting transgender ideology.  The majority of individuals who have undergone gender reassignment have the process reversed.  The majority of the individuals are less happy after reassignment.  True happiness comes from accepting reality.

Our legal system is denying society’s right to vote.  All legislation that goes against liberal ideology is tossed out.  All legislation that supports liberal agenda is welcomed.  The result is women’s rights, an actual protected group, are being threatened.  Women’s sports are under attack.  This is a case of the ends not justifying the means.  No behavior or ideology should be made a protected class.  Even more dangerous, bending current protections for ideological/political purposes threatens laws intended for deserving groups.

Alan Burke

Laws Can Help Prevent Shootings

Dear Editor,

As I read over this week’s issue of the Rhino, I noticed the automatic entry from Mr. Alan Marshall. As to why his offerings appear in every issue I see is at the discretion of the editor and not my reason for commenting today.

To my surprise, I’d like to disagree with Alan’s argument regarding the Florida school shooting, namely that “No new law would have prevented this.”

It is obvious that a different threshold for dealing with a mentally unstable individual with a record of law enforcement interactions like the Cruz fellow would have forced him into some form of supervision from authorities. Lock him up, put an ankle bracelet on him, get him into some structured environment – whatever – anything besides letting him run loose, bringing his fantasies to fruition. Additionally, a higher age requirement for legally buying an AR-15, or possibly all multi-clip rifles, would have at least forced the shooter to go on the black market for a weapon, and might have deterred him.

Now I’m no bleeding heart liberal by any stretch; I voted for Trump and will do so again if he keeps making conservative changes to the America we have devolved into. No one “magic bullet” will eliminate some people from killing other people, but new laws that are enforced will lessen the quantity of these incidents.

Kent Vernon

Second Amendment Rights For All

Dear Editor,

I don’t think that any teacher, principal or student should be allowed to carry a concealed weapon onto school property.  I don’t think that judges, prosecutors or jurors should be allowed to carry concealed weapons in courthouses. I don’t want pilots, marshals and flight attendants to carry guns on planes. I also don’t think that ministers should pack heat in churches.  I don’t like the idea of more people carrying more guns into more places.  On the other hand I am a big believer in equal rights, so I don’t think that sane, law abiding 18-year-olds should lose the right to bear arms.

I think that all adult citizens should have the same legal, political and civil rights. If the US Constitution gives adult citizens the right to bear arms then that should apply to all, not just some, adult citizens. Eighteen-year-olds can marry, divorce and some can have abortions. They pay taxes, can vote, run for some political offices and serve on juries. They can get tattooed, pierced and have plastic surgery. They can pose nude and join the military. They can drive cars and pilot planes.  They can start their own religions and enter into contracts. They can even be executed. Why should some adults have to wait until they are 21 to have the constitutional right to bear arms?  If 18-year-olds can have one constitutional right taken away, then what about the others? Can 18-year-olds have their constitutional rights to freedom of speech, press and religion taken away?

Chuck Mann

Safety Is Your Job

Dear Editor,

My letter of last week will undoubtedly annoy law enforcement, and some of the “bullies with badges” will probably respond with vapid, trite and vacuous responses. C’est la vie.

In the meantime, we have seen actual and real confirmation of the sentiments I expressed. Since last week there has been a horrific shooting at a Florida High School, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Innocent young people were murdered and, as it turns out, they were needlessly murdered. The school had an armed sheriff’s deputy named Peterson. He was on the west side of the school when the shooting began and, by luck, that is where the shooter, Mr. Cruz, was beginning his murderous rampage.

So he went in, disabled the shooter and saved many innocent lives, right?

No. He stayed outside, armed and in uniform, while a crazed young embodiment of evil went about his business, unimpeded by law enforcement; and children, who could have been saved, were slaughtered and maimed. What a coward this cop was.  But aren’t all bullies just cowards?

The law enforcement officer involved, Peterson, has resigned, following the decision by his superiors that he was suspended without pay until further notice.

Sheriff’s Deputy Peterson never fired his weapon.  “Protect and Serve”? Don’t make me laugh.

Let’s tell the truth about law enforcement – they are the guys who write down words on pieces of paper after you have been raped, robbed, burglarized, mugged or murdered. If you really need to keep yourself and your family safe, well, I refer you to my words in last week’s letter: You want protection? Buy a .45.

Cops are useless, except for writing you a ticket – and as an ego trip for pathetic losers with a hero fantasy, which they cannot even fulfill when they’re given the chance.

The responsibilty to protect yourself and your family is yours alone.

Austin Morris

 




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