Mike Rogers holds roundtable drawing transgender rights distinctions in U.S. Senate race

GRAND BLANC, Mich. ― The battle over transgender rights from ballfields to bathrooms became an issue in Michigan’s race for the U.S. Senate, which will appear on Tuesday’s primary ballot.

Former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, who is seeking the Republican nomination, organized a roundtable on the topic in Grand Blanc Monday, seeking to draw a distinction between himself and the Democrats, though he still faces two Republican challengers in tomorrow's primary for the chance to advance to November.

Rogers promised to support legislation to roll back new regulations from the Biden Administration that expand the scope of prohibited discrimination to include sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination.

“We’re going to take the Senate, we’re going to keep the House and we’re going to win the White House and we’re going to fix Title IX,” he said to cheers.

Supporters of the new rules, including Democratic rivals Rep. Elissa Slotkin and Hill Harper, argue they are crucial to protecting LGBTQ+ students from harassment and discrimination. Opponents say they will destroy women’s sports by forcing women athletes to compete against trans women, who may possess physical advantages based on their biology.

The new rules have already prompted a lawsuit in which a federal judge temporarily blocked their implementation at some schools in Michigan and several other states.

More: New Title IX rules for LGBTQ+ students in effect, but not at these 100+ Michigan schools

To emphasize his point, Rogers brought Riley Gaines and Paula Scanlan, two former NCAA swimmers who described competing against transgender swimmer Lia Thomas. He also brought Betsy DeVos, the West Michigan billionaire who served as Education Secretary in the Trump administration.

All three have been outspoken critics of the new rules, some of which overturn rules created under DeVos.

The Department of Education said in April that the new rules apply to educational programs and activities. Rulemaking for athletics is still ongoing, the department said.

DeVos said the rules will impact sports.

"What the Biden-Harris administration has done to totally upend everything that Title IX stands for is really abominable,” DeVos said.

Also at the event were high school and college female athletes from Michigan who opposed the new rules.

Addy Stiverson is a sophomore in Montrose Schools near Clio who competes in the shot put. She said men can have testosterone levels as much at 30 times higher than women, which would give trans women athletes a huge competitive advantage.

“I could go on and on and on about the physical differences between males and females, but the real truth is males should not be going against females at any time,” she said.

Maddie Krappmann will be a senior at Everest Collegiate, a small Catholic school in Clarkston. She plays volleyball and runs track. She won her league title in the 400-meter dash but said she might have missed that opportunity.

“If there were a man competing, my best would not have been enough. No matter how hard, how much I put into it,” she said. “It could never be enough. We really need to protect women.”

Slotkin spokesman Antoine Givens said Slotkin supports the new rules.

"It's telling that Mike Rogers is choosing to spend this important moment campaigning with Betsy DeVos,” Givens said “And what’s their joint message? Division and hate — no hope anywhere to be seen.”

Hill, the other Democrat in the race, also supports the new rules and blasted Rogers and DeVos.

“I am firmly against harassment and discrimination of any kind,” Hill said. “Once again, Betsy DeVos and the GOP are fear mongering to fuel culture wars to divide people. It’s a poor script for a bad horror movie we’ve seen played out in every election.”

Rogers said the issue is personal to him because he has a daughter and his wife was an athlete in college.

“This is not about ... condemning the LGBT community, it’s not any of that,” Rogers said. “It’s about fairness. It’s about Title IX.”

Dr. Sherry O’Donnell, who is challenging Rogers for the Republican nomination, opposes the new rules.

"We have a moral obligation to protect women,” she said. “It is fundamentally unfair and dangerous to have biological men competing against women.”

Justin Amash, the third Republican remaining in the race did not return a request for comment.

Contact John Wisely: jwisely at freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Transgender rights draw distinctions in Michigan's race for U.S. Senate