Exclusive — Rep. Jim Banks on Standing Up to Woke Gender Ideology: 'Voters Reward You' for Standing Up to Bullies

Voters reward leaders who stand up to woke bullies, particularly those who seek to inject age-inappropriate gender ideology in classrooms and allow biological men to compete in women’s sports, Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) said Tuesday.

Speaking to Breitbart News, Banks spoke about the left’s attempts to inject woke gender ideology into classrooms, as well as Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) vetoing a bill that would stop biological boys from competing in sports against biological girls.

“The Florida bill is a really good bill and I strongly applaud Gov. DeSantis and the state legislatures in Florida for passing it,” Banks said of the Parental Rights in Education act, which prohibits classroom discussions on sexual orientation and gender identity for children in kindergarten through third grade. Critics have falsely labeled the measure “Don’t Say Gay” in attempts to grossly mislead the general public.

“Parents don’t want their elementary-school age kids going to school and having a radical gender theory ideology pushed on them or other left-wing ideologies pushed on them when they’re in first, second and third grades,” Banks said, calling it a “common sense bill” that “has broad support.”

But there are bullies such as these “woke corporate CEOs and the ACLU and others who are trying to push their agenda and influence governors and state legislatures to back down,” Banks said, “but the biggest lesson we learn over and over again that nobody teaches us more than Gov. DeSantis is that when you don’t back down to bullies, voters reward you for it.”

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb speaks with reporters at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Tom Davies)

“And unfortunately when you see the situations like Gov. Holcomb’s veto of the girls sports bill in Indiana, those moments of weakness, the voters see that and they don’t reward that activity, but they reward backbone and the leadership of governors like DeSantis who don’t back down to the bullies,” Banks said, noting his state’s governor “flip flipped on the issue” and ultimately caved to the bullies.

Holcomb, Banks said, changed his position, as he previously said boys should play boys sports and girls should play girls sports.

And “most Hoosiers agree with that,” Banks said, noting the governor made a mistake by vetoing a bill that would do what he previously said he supported.

Banks, a father of three girls, added that the bill did not go far enough because it didn’t apply to collegiate sports.

“We’re seeing NCAA especially cheapen women’s sports by allowing biological men to compete in women’s sports,” he said, noting that it appears Holcomb caved to pressure from the NCAA, which is headquartered in Indianapolis.

However, the Indiana Republican said he is glad to see that state legislators are vowing to return to the statehouse and override his veto in the coming weeks, as most Hoosiers believe “plain and simple that we shouldn’t allow biological boys to play in girls sports.”

“I strongly disagree with the governor’s veto but I’m glad that the state legislature is going to come back to the statehouse and do the right thing and override it,” he added.

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