WASHINGTON, DC — Tonight, Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) Ambassador Riley Gaines will join Speaker of the House Mike Johnson as his guest at President Biden’s third State of the Union address. As a leading advocate for women and girls’ sports, Gaines has worked to preserve the rights that women have to safety, privacy and equal opportunity under Title IX – rights that the Biden administration threatens to erase in the name of inclusivity.
As an IWF ambassador, Gaines is calling on lawmakers to stand with women. Gaines has testified before Congress against the Biden administration’s Title IX proposed rule changes, which would redefine sex discrimination on the basis of “gender identity,” undermining the original intent of the law.
“I couldn’t be more excited to attend the State of the Union address as Speaker Johnson’s guest,” Gaines said. “He has been steadfast in his support of Title IX and the importance of maintaining its original intent. As the Biden Administration pursues their illegal administrative rewrite of Title IX, I’m confident Speaker Johnson will fight for women and common sense as he’s already done.”
Since competing against male-bodied athlete Lia Thomas at the 2022 NCAA Division I Swimming Championships, where she and other women athletes were forced to share a locker room and change in front of him, Gaines has been an outspoken champion in defense of women and against those who seek to undermine and erase women. She has worked with IWF to build support in states and the federal government for policies to help protect women’s opportunities and private spaces not just in athletics, but also in sororities, locker rooms, and prisons.
Learn more about Independent Women’s Forum’s storytelling campaign to fight for fairness in women’s sports, which has amplified the stories of other female athletes who have felt compelled to lend their voice to the fight to save women’s sports and end the discrimination of women HERE.
###
Independent Women’s Forum is dedicated to developing and advancing policies that aren’t just well intended but actually enhance people’s freedom, choices, and opportunities.