60 Comments - The Real Downstate - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 2:29 pm: Republicans gonna Republican. This is what we should expect from a party that, today, is built around the idea that all “others” should be feared and hated. - Socially DIstant watcher - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 2:31 pm: Morrison can’t understand women’s issues except as a wedge issue. And even then he’s got it wrong. - Proud Papa Bear - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 2:31 pm: No surprise there. I heard Morrison’s wife give a transphobic diatribe at a school board meeting a few years ago. It’s like an obsession with them. - Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 2:33 pm: Good on Rep. Cassidy. Hate speech has no place anywhere. Hate speech has no place on the floor of the Illinois House. I need not add any more, Cassidy said it all. - Montrose - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 2:35 pm: I want to use oh-so-many banned words in response to Morrison’s hate speech. Sadly, his point of view on trans athletes is not confined to just those on the far right. I have many friends who are fairly progressive on a number of issues that think supporting trans athletes is going too far. - Matty - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 2:36 pm: I have no idea what the heck Morrison is talking about, but it’s just sports. Sports don’t matter. People matter. Big props to Cassidy. The fact that that speech had to be given in the first place is demoralizing. - SWIL_Voter - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 2:36 pm: Just despicable people go far out of their way to direct hatred at the already most vulnerable people. Disgusting - NIU Grad - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 2:38 pm: Tom Morrison has stoked the fire of hatred in his community, especially with his advocacy for School District 211 to draw repeated lines in the sand on LGBT issues. His actions put young lives at risk. - Panther Pride - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 2:39 pm: Props, as always, to Rep. Cassidy for being a champion for the LGBTQ community. Rep. Morrison’s remarks felt very much like rubbing salt in the LGBTQ community’s wounds after our many recent losses. I’m glad Morrison won’t be returning to the GA. I can’t help but wonder who he was auditioning for with that speech. - Pot calling kettle - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 2:40 pm: It’s interesting that folks with little to no background in this complex topic claim to “know” when, if they took the time to educate themselves on the science, would discover that they do not “know.” This will take some time to listen to, but it is worth it…In 2018, WNYC’s RadioLab did a series titled Gonads, which did a deep dive into what we know about gender, sex, and reproduction. These three episodes are especially informative on the topic at hand. https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/gonads-xy https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/dutee https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/dana - btowntruthfromforgottonia - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 2:41 pm: It’s the latest thing they have to be “outtaged” about. You should see local social media where I live about Lia Thomas. Some really hateful and bigoted stuff. And I think not a single one - ClownWorld - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 2:43 pm: Cassidy is the activist pounding on the table Morrison is referencing. There was no hate speech or tormenting in his comments. To quote Morrison: “We can and should be kind to individuals with gender dysphoria”. This is common ground all sides of the debate agree on. - Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 2:46 pm: === This is common ground all sides of the debate agree on.=== Apparently “all” in your thought is misleading at best, given the words of Cassidy and the response on the floor after them. Speak for yourself. - Norseman - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 2:47 pm: Cassidy is so right about the danger of suicide among trans youth. It’s easy for the haters like Morrison to spew his venom, but for a parent the question is whether you want a dead son or a transitioned daughter. - Steve - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 2:50 pm: Tom Morrison made an excellent point women. If the NCAA no longer cares about women’s sports: how long can sex segregated sports survive? - Grandson of Man - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 2:50 pm: Where is Bill Maher to whine that Democrats have become too woke? /s Great speech by Rep. Cassidy. Transgender people are like other minorities, used by the GOP to rile up their base or legalize their bigotry, as they are doing/trying to do in other states with banning the teaching of racism in public schools, banning mention of LGBT and the like. - Dotnonymous - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 2:51 pm: “It’s like an obsession with them.” Whatever happened to “mind your own business” and “live and let live”? Obsession over gender identification and sexual preference is quite unintendedly revealing…psychologically speaking. None of this is about sports…it’s about fear…of male weakness. - The Real Downstate - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 2:52 pm: Even if you believe what Morrison does, going out there and saying that after two trans women were just found dead in Chicago is beyond insensitive. He knows what he was doing. - Obama’s Puppy - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 2:54 pm: Morrison and womens rights are diametrically opposed. The man has shown his disregard for women and womens rights throughout his forgettable career. He would rather put people through court enforced counseling and risk their mental health than having to deal with the fact that there are folks that are born into the wrong sex. He feels no shame he has no heart, thank God for Kelly someone who makes up for mindlessness of legislators like Morrison. - The Real Downstate - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 2:58 pm: The snowflakes in the GOP want safespaces to hide from trans people, sad! They want big government to come in and tell us how people should behave and regulate what sports they are allowed to participate in. Democrats are the party of individual liberty and personal freedom, the GOP are not. - Steve - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 3:02 pm: -It’s easy for the haters like Morrison to spew his venom- Kelly Cassidy seemed a bit more angry and divisive than the calm tone of Morrison. Someone expressing a viewpoint isn’t hate speech no matter what Cassidy says. Morrison wasn’t threatening violence against anyone. - Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 3:04 pm: ===Someone expressing a viewpoint isn’t hate speech no matter what Cassidy says.=== I dunno if defending the venomous words of Morrison…on the merits of their meaning… is the square you want to land on here. - Panther Pride - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 3:09 pm: ==than the calm tone of Morrison== Your objection to Rep. Cassidy’s comments is that she was passionate while saying them? Jeez, Steve, might want to check that misogynistic stereotype at the door next time… - clec dcn - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 3:10 pm: I guess I did not take his speech as hate speech. He made some good points. It is not necessary to go along with trends and peoples beliefs, however it does not stop one from say what they think is right. I just don’t see this as some. - Steve - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 3:12 pm: -venomous words- There’s nothing in Morisson’s words that’s inconsistent with the meaning of Title 9. But, if Illinois decides they don’t want sex segregated sports any longer, that’s fine. I guess it’s possible to get a new meaning to Section 1 of the 14th Amendment. - Hannibal Lecter - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 3:13 pm: While Morrison might not be the best mouthpiece for this point of view, it must be noted that there are many Democrats that agree on the position of trans athletes in women’s sports. - Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 3:14 pm: ===…if Illinois decides…=== Build your embarrassingly ridiculous straw men to defend Morrison elsewhere. - Hannibal Lecter - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 3:15 pm: === While Morrison might not be the best mouthpiece for this point of view, it must be noted that there are many Democrats that agree on the position of trans athletes in women’s sports. === Geez - I should proofread what I write. What I meant to say is that there are many Democrats that disagree with the trends of trans athletes and their participation in women’s sports. - Billy Tipton - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 3:19 pm: Mr. Morrison and his hateful, fear-based views empowered people like my child’s elementary school principal, who pounded the table and yelled at me, our kid, and our nationally renowned Lurie physician — refusing to provide any training or protections for our kid. A first grader. We had to flee that community at the cost of tens of thousands of dollars and untold mental anguish for everyone in our family. I wish Rep Cassidy had been with us that day, and I hope that when the doors of the House close on that guy he never gets another taxpayer dollar. - Steve - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 3:19 pm: - straw men - Cassidy was brilliant in defining Morrison as the straw men. I was waiting to hear in her speech how Morrison was directly involved in the tragic death of the individual she talked about. - Pot calling kettle - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 3:20 pm: ==the calm tone of Morrison== Here is what Morrison said in his calm tone: “We objectively know what a woman is. But it’s become increasingly common now to pretend that we don’t know.” This opening statement, the foundation for the rest of his speech, is false. Just because Rep. Morrison “knows” does not mean he actually knows. The reality is incredibly complex. The idea of a binary gender is a social construct imposed on a much more complex reality. The imposition of what Morrison “knows” has serious negative implications as Rep. Cassidy points out. (If you would like to know more, I refer you to the podcasts linked above.) - Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 3:21 pm: ===Morrison was directly involved=== Then you were the only one waiting for that. - Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 3:23 pm: === Morrison as the straw men=== Morrison would be a straw man, singular, and now after landing on defending Morrison on the merits of his words… you have Morrison as the victim? Are you sure you’re not Morrison? - Norseman - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 3:23 pm: To all the so-called reasonable debate folk, carefully listen to his speech a few more times. He makes it sound like it’s raining people who want to be trans for sexual or competitive advantage. He’s spouting baloney for political benefit. This only puts a hate target on trans individuals. People are dying because of Morrison-type speeches. - Leeroy Jenkins - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 3:27 pm: Trans athletes should not be able to participate in women’s sports. People can be accepting of Transgender rights and still have this viewpoint. Lia Thomas lived her entire life as a male transitioned and won the women’s NCAA championship, that is absurd. I have no idea how we got to this point but something needs to change. - Hannibal Lecter - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 3:29 pm: === The idea of a binary gender is a social construct imposed on a much more complex reality. === That is exactly right. There is a difference between sex and gender. Sex is biology. Gender is a social construct. I think in the issue of transgender sports, you are trying to accommodate issues relating to gender identity in a world that highly involves biological, anatomical issues to consider. Its a very tough issue. - Steve - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 3:31 pm: -The reality is incredibly complex. The idea of a binary gender is a social construct imposed on a much more complex reality- Male drivers 16 to 26 are the riskiest drivers , insurance companies have massive data on this point and charge accordingly. Some states do discriminate against women drivers by forcing them to pay higher insurance rates to subsidize men. - H-W - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 3:32 pm: =Someone expressing a viewpoint isn’t hate speech no matter what.= Are you crazy? Tone of voice is irrelevant. Hate speech is speech that denies dignity and equal accommodations and equal protections to a class of citizens. The absence of the word hate, indeed, even the presence of the word love (e.g., “love the sinner, hate the sin” hogwash) does not determine whether a statement is hate speech. Most hate speech is actually expressed calmly, so as to imply (feign) pity and sympathy. If you deny equality before God and man to a class of people, you express hate toward them; you assert your own superiority to that class. I left the (progressive) Methodist Church six years ago because they very lovingly try to justify denying same-sex marriage, homosexual clergy, etc. Relegating people to a secondary class of citizenry is an abomination, because it assume two classes of citizenry is acceptable. Geez, Louise. - Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 3:33 pm: === Lia Thomas lived her entire life as a male transitioned and won the women’s NCAA championship, that is absurd=== As a question to your concern; Do you think Thomas went through all that transitioning entails, everything, and the emotional parts too, for one swimming season, in a sport that doesn’t pay, with no other eligibility left, to swim the races to be a NCAA champion, and only for that purpose? - Pundent - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 3:33 pm: =People are dying because of Morrison-type speeches.= And this is the point Cassidy was making no matter how “calm” Morrison’s delivery may have been. There’s no requirement for screaming when it comes to hate speech. - ProtectTransKids - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 3:34 pm: ==This opening statement, the foundation for the rest of his speech, is false.== Not only is the opening statement false, but the rest of his statement is false or deliberately misleading. The complaints that he speaks of regarding nudity and Lia Thomas were reported by the Daily Mail, a tabloid, based on an interview with one anonymous alleged teammate. The Los Alamitos overnight trip? Deliberate misunderstanding by a parent, and the outdoor education center in question has said that no “biological” male roomed with female students. And, of course, Thomas’s one win doesn’t change the fact that not only did she not win in every event she competed in, but she didn’t even break any records set by “biological” (ie cisgender) women. This is hate speech, pure and simple, and perpetuating these lies will directly lead to more violence against trans people. I am grateful as always for Rep. Cassidy for standing up for what’s right. - SWIL_Voter - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 3:37 pm: It’s the fact that none of these bigots actually care about women or women’s sports that really grates me. Lia Thomas spent years transitioning, has had her hormone levels tested to prove she doesn’t have a large discrepancy compared to other swimmers. She didn’t even win all the swims she swam. This dangerous hatred is being gunned up for the sole purpose of winning elections, no matter how many innocent people get hurt along the way. Just awful, unforgivable - Panther Pride - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 3:42 pm: ==People can be accepting of Transgender rights and still have this viewpoint.== No, people can’t. The governors of Utah and Indiana both vetoed legislation to ban trans kids from participating in high school sports because there are so few trans athletes in their public schools to label this as anything other than a manufactured problem. Leeroy, can you actually name any examples of other trans athletes winning championship after championship? Doubtful, because it’s not really happening. Turns out, trans athletes usually compete at about the level of their cisgender peers. So, the objection is actually that those with this view don’t believe a trans person is actually of the gender they identify with and therefore should be denied participation. That’s transphobia 101. You cannot be accepting of trans rights and hold that viewpoint. - Steve - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 3:46 pm: -Hate speech is speech- For you rookies out there on hate speech.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandenburg_v._Ohio - Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 3:48 pm: ===For you rookies out there=== Says the person who rated “hate speech” on… delivery. - Lincoln Lad - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 3:52 pm: I am so demoralized by what has happened to our country. Watching the SC hearings… watching Morrison… there is no place for this kind of bad behavior in our government leadership. It’s disgraceful, and I’m beyond tired of it. This isn’t governing. - ArchPundit - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 4:06 pm: ===Kelly Cassidy seemed a bit more angry and divisive than the calm tone of Morrison Imagine being emotional about equality. —-=-If the NCAA no longer cares about women’s sports: how long can sex segregated sports survive? Did the nice folks on Facebook tell you this was the case and ignore what the NCAA is actually doing? https://www.ncaa.org/news/2022/1/19/media-center-board-of-governors-updates-transgender-participation-policy.aspx It’s a new issue so this will take a few years to sort out, but there is quite a bit of serious discussion about how allow participation in different sports. But you just spouted nonsense you got off social media and your outrage over the issue with absolutely no understanding of the actual policies surrounding college sports. Cases where kids have puberty blocked are also very different from cases where transition happened later and your weird claim that everything is falling apart ignores those complexities. - Pundent - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 4:06 pm: =there are a lot of Democrats that disagree with the trends of trans athletes and their participation in women’s sports but are afraid to speak out.= Probably those same Democrats that supported Bruce Rauner but were afraid to speak out. I don’t consider myself a Democrat but I could care less about who’s participating in what sport and I don’t really see the concerning “trend” you’re referencing. What I do see is sports being used as justification for transphobia and bullying. And regardless of political affiliation that’s plain wrong. - Candy Dogood - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 4:07 pm: When people were talking about the roaring 20s I just assumed they were talking about the permissive indulgence of alcohol and other drugs and foolishly unregulated stock markets. Instead they meant fascists and bigots, but here we are. Tom Morrison is right, he is going to be condemned for his words but he’s not terribly clever by trying to pretend that his speech is somehow the truth. Representative Cassidy did an excellent job addressing this issue and stole whatever national spotlight Morrison’s hate filled speech. - ArchPundit - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 4:08 pm: ===there are a lot of Democrats that disagree with the trends of trans athletes and their participation in women’s sports The lurkers support you, of course. So what should the policy be? Would you stop students per-pubescent or who take puberty blockers? Are they getting an advantage? What about boys who have transitioned from being girls? Same? Or have you even thought about this more than what you read on Facebook or heard on Fox? - Occasional Quipper - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 4:14 pm: One problem with sports transgender policies is that they tend to base things on testosterone levels. But the advantages of a male physique don’t immediately disappear as soon as the testosterone level reaches a certain point. - Atlas - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 4:15 pm: The sports issue boils down to society’s preference for fairness for the competitors and the perception that girls/women who don’t experience male puberty will be/are at a permanent disadvantage in their sport. That being said, if you think a transgender athlete’s participation in a middle school basketball game matters 1. you’re wrong and 2. you’ve lost the thread. I think that’s what the R Governor’s are realizing with these anti-trans sports bills. The more data we get from transgender women participating in elite athletic competitions the more muddled the picture becomes but it is very important to remember just how little data we have. Transgender athletes weren’t even allowed to compete in the Olympics until 2016. Over time as the data comes in we’re likely to see a few sports where the post-puberty transgender woman has a structural advantage over traditional women and we’re also likely to see the vast majority of sports where there’s little to no difference. Finally, and really far afield of Illinois politics, the swimmer Morrison referenced swam a really, really fast time at the NCAA championship which is why people are upset. Her time converts to about the same speed Katie Ladecky swam to win the US Olympic Trials in the equivalent event but wouldn’t have even qualified for the men’s event at the same Trials (for which 110 men qualified). - MisterJayEm - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 4:19 pm: God bless Kelly Cassidy. The people of Illinois are damn lucky to have her. – MrJM - ArchPundit - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 4:22 pm: Lia Thomas is probably the bad case to make policy from and I would expect another woman in her position will not compete with women as this gets sorted out. Atlas–I think your points are very good–part of this is sorting out what the advantages are and there are very, very few athletes to analyze. As we go along we will figure out how to allow student athletes to compete in the fairest and most inclusive way possible. I do agree with the notion that testosterone levels are problematic–part of it is we don’t understand testosterone levels very well–the drug testing regimes have had problems with this for a long time. At the Olympics/International competition level women have been excluded from competition for testosterone levels that were high despite no evidence of doping and being born female. The weird obsession on this issue instead of approaching it as something to be researched and considered is just another moral panic created by people apparently not angry enough about catalytic converter theft posts on Nextdoor. - SandyC - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 4:25 pm: I’m outraged at Rep. Morrison. Not just because how he spoke of human beings on the House floor, but how his Facebook page is full of hate speech and dialect from himself and others responding in agreement to his ignorance. Hate speech is hate speech. What happened to women can be as strong as a man? I’ve challenged some men to do what I can do and you know what…they can’t, period. To mock and bully human beings because they are a certain sex and are causing unfairness in sports is a joke. All that says is Morrison and others who side with him believe that the male is superior in strength. Give me a break. Basically the homophobic rep.is saying because the swimmer had/has testosterone, he can’t swim in the pool with others. Sound familiar? Pfft. Sorry, not sorry. - Mary Poppins - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 6:04 pm: The Rep. Morrison who vouched for a convicted sexual abuser of children not so long ago is lecturing us about keeping kids safe? Rat-faced fink https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2018/10/25/state-rep-morrison-vouches-for-child-abuser-griffins-midterm-prediction-underwood-ramps-up-333807 - Suburban Mom - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 6:26 pm: Steve, how many women’s sports have you watched this year outside of the Olympics? How much time have you spent advocating for NCAA women’s sports to get better TV coverage? Because this sounds a wholllllllllle lot like concern-trolling, and nothing at all like you give a crap about a) women; b) women’s sports; or c) trans individuals. Trans women are women, period, and it’d be great — AMAZING, really — if Republicans could quit exposing my children to bigotry and hate speech on the daily. “Family values” don’t involve hate, and for a party that claims to want my white suburban mom vote, the GOP is really doing as much as it can to convince me that it shares none of my values, morals, or ethics. Honestly, I feel like I have to protect my children from their influence, because I’m trying to raise good and moral people, and the GOP just keeps preaching hate and immorality. - Amalia - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 7:40 pm: If I thought they actually cared about women’s sports, I might listen a little bit. but they are not the people of fairness and equality and they have done little for women. that said, in women’s sports now, neither are the so called progressives about fairness. they should listen to Martina Navratilova and the group she is working with to get fairness in sports. biological women (or cis gender if you really want to confuse people) have about the same size brains as men, 2% smaller. but heart lungs and kidneys 25% smaller. transitioning after puberty leaves a great deal of advantages in male bodies. Martina and her group are not opposed to trans women in sports. but they are trying to account for the advantages that bodies post puberty have and see how to factor this into sports. they are working with trans women athletes and scholars on this. the left cannot let the transphobic take this issue because virtually everyone I talk with who is a Democrat finds the Lia Thomas matter unfair. and the issue of sports participation unresolved. - Moira - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 8:57 pm: Marry Poppins, This kind of callout needs to happen more often. The ones making the most fuss about gender and sexual identity are also often turning a blind eye or even actively condoning abuse in their own institutions. Seems to me they are stoking fear of marginalized folks who aren’t causing any harm, so they can avoid talking about the actual dangers to women and children that they don’t want to do anything about. - Eddy - Wednesday, Mar 23, 22 @ 9:35 pm: Future ex rep Morisson…. Buh bye. You’re an embarrassment to the General Assembly Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.