By Guy Page
NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines implored U.S. Senators on June 21 to understand the trauma girls and women suffer when forced to undress in locker rooms with biological males.
In response, Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vermont) advised Gaines and others who testified: just accept the change.
Testifying before Senate Judiciary in a hearing on transgender rights, Gaines described being forced to share a locker room with a biological male during the 2022 NCAA championships.
“We had to see a man undressing while we were simultaneously undressing,” Gaines said about an hour into the two-hour hearing. “I left the locker room and went to one of the officials on the pool deck and said ‘what are the guidelines to allow a man into a locker room?’ He so nonchalantly said back, ‘we got around this by making locker rooms unisex.’”
“Any man who wanted to could’ve walked into our locker room. Any coach. Any official,” Gaines told the senators. “We were not forewarned about it. That’s the traumatizing part. It was so easy for them to dismiss a right to privacy….. What message does this send to women, to young girls, who so easily have their rights to privacy and safety thrown out of the window to protect a small population, to protect one group, as long as they are happy?”
Welch said during the lengthy hearing until near the end, when he thanked Gaines for speaking but advised everyone – including Gaines – to embrace acceptance of the LGBTQ+ agenda.
“Recently in Vermont, we were the first state to pass civil unions, and our incumbent governor who signed that bill nearly lost his re-election,” Welch said. “And many of the arguments being made here about why that would be bad dissolved because once the law was passed and people were together, then what before had been seen as wrong, we were allowed to see what love existed between these people.”
“We’re just all trying to figure out life, and who we are, and how we can be who we are and be fully, fully engaged in being a generous, open and loving person to everyone else…. So, the Equality Act, I think, is so important because it acknowledges with the force of law that LGBTQ+ folks are entitled to the same rights and protections as everyone else….I come down on the side of just accept that people’s struggles are and there’s a lot of power in accepting, in acceptance.”
The entire hearing, including unexcerpted statements made by Welch and Gaines, can be seen here.
Categories: Congress
Wonder if the esteemed Senator had a young daughter in sports if he would be so cavalier in letting men dressed as women into his daughters locker room…….I think not.
Nothing like the ruling class to say “Just accept it”.
It’s akin to a parent telling their child you will eat your dinner or you will go to your room, except with this particular topic it’s more like just accept you’ll be raped.
All so we play along with a mentally ill person so they don’t have their feelings hurt….
https://youtu.be/uhSY6cMoTEs?t=10
(NSFW or Children)
“All so we play along with a mentally ill person so they don’t have their feelings hurt….”
That, basically, is the essence of the “woke culture”.
Seriously, Welch is comparing the civil unions law with women having their comfort and safety compromised in a changing facility? That doesn’t say much for him, his party OR anyone who voted for him. Have we heard from his wife on the issue? Will she just “accept it” when a “person with a penis” appears in the locker room of her health club? For a party that claims to be the champions of women, the democrats have sunk to new lows.
Sen. Welch, our society has always been comfortable with certain venues and activities being segregated by sex/gender such as public restrooms, changing facilities, certain sports and the prison system and the criteria for who uses what has always been BASED ON ANATOMY, not psychology. Homosexual people have been around forever, and we didn’t make an exception for them based on their psychology. Men who are attracted to men still used the men’s facilities, and vice versa. Why do we now decide that the criteria is to be based on “identity” and feewings?
It’s hard to believe that this is what Vermont votes for. But it is and I now realize how out of place I am.
Sort of how I am feeling also!
Think about that when you are out in public in Vermont with people all around…you are surrounded by idiots…
Yet another reason I’m glad i moved out ten years ago.
One of the reasons I just moved out of the state after living there for 56 years. I couldn’t take it any longer and I don’t miss it one bit.
And one of the reasons why I wanted and got out of VT.
Why hasn’t Vermont fired this buffoon?
“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight!”
Isaiah 5:20-21 NASB
Great appropriate quote!
Our senator is a total ass. Simple.
Always has been !
A misogynistic ass.
Both of them.
Perhaps the next stage needs to be unisex restrooms at the US Capitol building and removal of ALL PRIVATE RESTROOMS. In the senate and house offices. After all, think of the two fold benefits: the square footage to be saved, and a dose of reality for the crusaders for the liberal agenda!
In fact, perhaps it is a matter of equal protection under the law. Congress should be happy to have the same benefits we are forcing on our children!
How about Navy ships ?
Being a Marine I hate to dump on the Navy but…………they are using drag queens to recruit, might explain why the Navy is falling short of new recruits and the Marines are at 110%.
One would hope that a Senator who says “Just except it” ; would be voted out of office his next term (should he run) by Democrats, Progressives, and Republicans alike. Most recognize the harm. Most (regardless of political direction) when changing at home shut the door to their bedroom (if people are around). It’s called privacy, and not only conservatives who vote R shut the door when changing; or shut the door to the bathroom stall when going to the bathroom. The greater majority of civilized Vermonters would totally disagree with Welch’s comment “Deal with it”. If our Vermont Senator has no common sense regarding privacy, he doesn’t deserve to be re-elected ! We will wait and see how much common sense the Democratic and Progressive voters have when he runs again.
the problem is that democrat and progressive voters are not motivated by common sense, they are motivated by feewings and they get their vital information and news from public radio and late at night from Steven Colbert after 5 beers…
Did you expect any other answer from Peter ” the follower ” Welch this
buffoon only knows what he’s been told to say, for the agenda.
It just goes to show his perverted thoughts about males undressing in
front of teenage girls, and Vermonters voted for this fool…… pathetic.
Welch one of Vermont’s ” three stooges ” we deserve better !!
Yup Curly, (Welch) Larry (Boinie), and Shemoe, or just plain Schmoe !
Do we really deserve better? We voted for this ambulance-chasing charlatan many times over the years. We deserve what we voted for.
Sorry Rich, not me. I am very proud to say that I have NEVER voted for this disingenuous dirt bag in my life !
Only one who supports perverts and paedophilia would support underage children exposing themselves.
If you had pictures on your computer that’s a child abuse felony what’s the difference?
You are a pedophile in my eyes
Go sniff some hair with that guy in Washington
Despite the many movies that show us women as”empowered females,” the fact is that even a scrawny guy can take on the average woman and win. Women are like prey animals, always on our guard. Men don’t know what it’s like to walk to your car in the dark and be afraid. So “shut up and accept it” is not an answer, Mr. Welch.
Exactly. Peter Welch once again espousing politically expedient nonsense instead of statesmanship. According to the internet he is a graduate of Cathedral High School (now Pope Francis Preparatory) in Springfield, MA and the College of Holy Cross. Regardless he should know every human being is created in the image and likeness of God – as male and female. As you suggest, even those males afflicted genuinely with gender dysphoria should not be permitted in female locker rooms or on sports teams for obvious reasons pointed out by Miss Gaines. The tiny fraction who suffer from gender dysphoria, an “abnormal state of mind” (until 2013 the DSM labelled the condition gender “disorder”) should be treated with compassion and given help, not blind approval and confirmation of their delusion.
What waste of oxygen that NJ carpetbagger is, couldn’t possibly have been elected to dog catcher in NJ, so he moves here to be voted in by all the useful idiot Marxist immigrants. Disgusting!
Just a clarification: he is a carpetbagger from Massachusetts. Not a big distinction there. When it comes to carpetbagging marxists, MA=NJ.
they have a separate locker room for the males, a separate locker room for the females why not make a separate locker room for the LGBTQ and that would give them equal rights with the rest of us.
That would be a practical solution, despite the extra expense. HOWEVER, it does not make the trans/non-binary person and their advocates feel good about themselves if they want to “identify” as male or female. Many of the activist types WANT TO infiltrate the changing facility that will cause the most ruckus.
In Randolph, Vermont, this logic was met with a lawsuit that the family of one of the volleyball team girls won. It seems it is not okay to have a trans male hormones suddenly kick in when in the girls locker room.
I wonder if Peter had a daughter on the team if the suit wouldn’t have been won with a larger financial consequence.
Welch is part of the problem! He needs to be replaced!
This left of left state will not replace him. In fact they love this. They will vote for Biden again if his party doesn’t throw him under the bus before then. Sadly VT has gone socialist/progressive/ communist. Time to leave.
What a freakin weasel ! If he refuses to acknowledge that we now need three of everything because he and others like him refuse to acknowledge the differences between genders he’s not just a weasel, he’s dangerous weasel !
Welch missed the whole point. This is not a “love thy neighbor” issue. This is an issue of respecting the privacy norms of female athletes. Welch is an insensitive and disingenuous disgrace to humankind who touts the party line in order to remain relevant.
He didn’t miss the point. He intentionally misused the Jewish & Christian faith base to try to shut down common sense & rational thinking.
Well, I just sent his office a scathing and blunt email and while I did not use any curse words, I used every vile adjective in my repertoire to tell him what I think of him, not that it will make any difference.
Here’s what YOU need to accept, Welsh: REALITY, DNA, and SCIENCE. Since it’s obvious that you must have been out sick the entire year during 10th grade when biology was being instructed, let me try to consolidate for you the basics you would have learned…Males have penises and females have vaginas. Women menstruate and become pregnant. Men cannot.
But beyond your sheer ignorance you very aptly place upon public display to the delight of the leftist Communists you endeavor to TITILATE- the true treachery of your sick statements proves beyond any doubt the misogyny you possess and the animus you hold against females.
You people (YES! YOU people!!!) have DESTROYED this once-safe state, desecrated womanhood, and placed ALL females, including children, in direct danger – all because of your greed & therefore your need to follow the filthy, Deep state money that placed you in your position of “power” which you abuse with abandon, otherwise known as malfeasance in office.
Hey Welsh – Why don’t ya go drop a dime into one of the Kotex machines you are probably demanding get installed in men’s public restrooms in Vermont. You are a spineless, sick excuse for a public servant as are all of your deeply disturbed swamp cohorts.
His attitude doesn’t surprise me. The last political advertisement that he ran just prior to the election stated these words, and only these words, “I support activists”, end quote. He does not support Vermonters.
What a stinking piece of trash *REPRESENTATIVE* (I like to REMIND them, since they have forgotten THATS what they are) that’s been installed from Vermont. DO BETTER VERMONT.
welsh is a evil communist. Boys do not belong in the girls locker room. Any normal person knows that. Evil ones refuse to accept reality.
Senator Welch is clearly driven by self-loathing and gender confusion.
Perhaps the good senator should frequent the lady’s room in the D.C. capitol before too long – to confirm and validate his/her LGBTQIA+ non-binary point. And while he’s at it, he should bring his wife and children along … to set an example for Riley Gaines and the rest of us.
Perhaps then Mr. Welch will realize, as Henry David Thoreau opined, ‘If misery loves company, misery has company enough.”
For every commenter here wondering if we can ever vote our three stooges out, I say good luck, I wish. It has long been documented that VT is awash in out of state VPIRG, CLF and NEA money, and they have bought and paid for the Secretary of State’s office and its Dominion vote counting machines, which we know are rigged throughout the country and have been for a long time. They would not allow any inspection of the machines over last two elections. Why not? If they are so secure, then transparency ought to be welcome for no other reason than to prove it, which we the people are entitled to.
Probably fantasy, I know, but I still retain my doubts about there being a large majority of progressive/democrat voters. Maybe someday we’ll have some honest prosecutors abiding by their oaths (assuming they were given) and enforcing the laws equally.
https://www.angel.com/tickets/sound-of-freedom?zip=05655&date=2023-07-10
He made a VERY stupid comment for which he will pay dearly for many reelections to come. He’s not a Communist, isn’t self-loathing, isn’t the Devil’s handmaiden, knows the Birds and Bees, etc., etc., etc. Simply put, he is a made a VERY, VERY stupid comment. Thoughtless, stupid and the whole world knows about it.
… and haven’t we all!!
Amen brother, but then again, I’m not a U.S. Senator.
Re: “…haven’t we all!! …a made a VERY, VERY stupid comment.”
No.
I agree, he made a VERY stupid comment. The problem is, he makes a lot of them, and his actions only back up his “stupidity”.
Vermont’s congressional delegation has been called the 3 stooges when it was Peter, Bernard from Brooklyn and Pat leaky Leahy. The original film version of the 3 stooges lost members and they were replaced. Pat Leaky Leahy moved on and Peter, of the Peter Principal moved up with Bernard of Brooklyn and then they added Becca the activist, lesbian and phony real person who accepted stolen money for her campaign. The 3 stooges were funny for their times, ours not so much. This is a reflection of the voting public here in the socialist republic of Verd Mont. Peter comes off as a total a$$ and the people who put him there are pathetic. A delegation stolen by carpetbaggers and supported by a cult party and we are enjoying the results. The state is broke, our education of students is pathetic and our representation in DC is a sad story. Naming them the 3 stooges dishonors the originals. Thank a democrat voting zombie for our state’s misery and the embarrassment of electing all 3.
Good point Dano. I’m sure the original “Three Stooges” would take exception to being compared to Vermont’s version. As well they should. May they rest in peace……
syncretism Is a slippery slope …. Welch is such an opportunistic punk
Peter Welch once again espousing politically expedient nonsense instead of statesmanship. According to the internet he is a graduate of Cathedral High School (now Pope Francis Preparatory) in Springfield, MA and the College of Holy Cross. Regardless he should know every human being is created in the image and likeness of God – as male and female. As you suggest, even those males afflicted genuinely with gender dysphoria should not be permitted in female locker rooms or on sports teams for obvious reasons pointed out by Miss Gaines. The tiny fraction who suffer from gender dysphoria, an “abnormal state of mind” (until 2013 the DSM labelled the condition gender “disorder”) should be treated with compassion and given help, not blind approval and confirmation of delusion.
Amen !
If you scrape the bottom of any sewer, you will find Welch and everyone else who support weak pathetic Males in Women’s sports, bath or locker rooms.
Openly testifying for satan and the destruction of Females.
Hey Welch, since neither you nor Scott can define what a Woman is, share a bed.
Two genders, made by God. Don’t think so ? Go milk a Bull and get eggs from a Rooster.
One more thing, Riley Gaines and the Randolph Girls Volleyball team are braver and stronger than either of you will ever be.
“We’re just all trying to figure out life, and who we are”…. that’s funny because I’m trying to figure out who the hell you are Welch!
He’s the dumba$$ that most of the dumba$$e$ in this state thought should represent them.
Alright, Ladies of the Left.
Ball’s in your court. And also in your daughters’ changing room.
This is what you keep voting for. Enjoy.
Any male who enters into a girls locker room should be draged with as much force that is needed…
How can a person of power and authority be so clueless as to say, and support, the idea that a women doesn’t have the right to not be exposed to a man?? Idiocy!!
He’s a tool being used to effect a desired outcome. That’s all he is, a tool and it’s not a requirement for most tools to be sharp.
This guy is an intellectual zero and a common sense less-than-zero.
Saying that a female must accept viewing a male “member” in the locker room in that “we all must accept each other” is beyond contemptuous and careless.
How far ought we go to “accept”, Mr. Peter? Sexual acts in the locker room? for example?
I won’t hold my breath waiting for a sensible answer….
He figures by the time he’s up for reelection the voters will have long forget.
I am guessing Welsh is a product of Vermont schools! You could not get this stupid without help!!
He is a product of Catholic High School in Springfield Mass but made his way to law school at UC Berkeley if that may serve to explain a few things. Did a stint as a “community organizer” in the west side of Chicago if that also explains a few things…
Loudoun County, VT will follow Loudoun County, VA. A matter of time. Disgraceful.
We as a society, like all great societies, have passed the point of no return.
It’s all in his name for all to see:
Welch: informal + sometimes offensive : to break one’s word : RENEGE
WHAT SEWER DID THIS FOOL CRAWL OUT OF? I AM SO SICK OF THIS BS OF BEING TOLD YOU HAVE TO ACCEPT IT. GUESS WHAT, THIS LIFE- LONG VERMONTER DOES NOT HAVE TO ACCEPT WHAT I KNOW IN MY HEART IS SICK GARBAGE! WITH YOUR ATTITUDE YOUR NOT FIT TO BE AROUND A FEMALE DOG MUCH LESS REPRESENT THIS STATE!
This is literally Bolshevik tactics. Break down society by destroying social norms and barriers.
While it may be ‘tactics’ of one kind or another, this breakdown in social and behavioral norms is a textbook example of what happens when various animal species on the planet become over-stressed. Typically, the stress is the result of over-crowding, not over-population. There’s a difference. For one thing, increased stress causes the adrenal glands to enlarge and become over-active. Studies show that it happens in rats, deer, and humans. And increased pansexual behavior is one of the common occurrences. It’s nature’s (if not God’s) way of regulating itself. If you’re interested in seeing various peer-reviewed behavioral studies, read Edward T. Hall’s book The Hidden Dimension. It’s available online in .pdf format.
Of course, there’s another, additional, possible cause of this behavioral breakdown. It’s artificial and somewhat recent. But it is, nonetheless, worthy of consideration. For the conspiracy theorists out there, consider Alex Jones’ rant on ‘gay frogs’. Jones thinks Fluoride may be the culprit. But another possibility is Atrazine, a common weed killer. See the effect Atrazine has on frogs. The point being that ‘experimental drugs’ are ubiquitous these days (e.g., Covid vaccines). Lord only knows how psychological drugs like Prozac, Xanax, Ritalin, and the various hormone blockers and treatments for gender dysphoria are affecting our behavior. There are hundreds of these psycho-semantic drugs on the market. Never mind cannabidiol (CBD) oil, heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl. And if you think big pharma is being forthcoming, well, good luck to you.
Is this a ‘Marxist tactic’? Who knows. But Peter Welch is obviously suffering/promoting these behavioral changes too… for whatever reason. In my humble opinion, he’s the last person anyone should listen to.
Scott is correct here, it’s classic Marxist tactics and has been going on for over 60 years. It starts slow and builds, it takes time to push these perversions into mainstream.
Let a former KGB agent explain it to you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOmXiapfCs8
Brian, I’ve seen Bezmenov’s incites many times. But these are not mutually exclusive conclusions. Again, while certain power-hungry totalitarians (Marxists/Bolsheviks/Maoists) may be using the ‘tactics’ you cite, it’s the human nature described by various behavioral studies that facilitate their tyranny. Certainly, not everyone is as Machiavellian as Lenin, Stalin, Mao, or possibly, Peter Welch. The rest of us are lambs to the slaughter if you will.
Welch represents the perversion of democracy. Two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Frankly, I don’t think Peter Welch is smart enough to know what the end results of his folly will be. Not that that makes Welch any less dangerous. After all, most of us know that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Or, as Ayn Rand opined: “There is no difference between communism and socialism, except in the means of achieving the same ultimate end: communism proposes to enslave men by force, socialism—by vote. It is merely the difference between murder and suicide.”
We both agree that he’s at least complicit, and that there is a marxist/commie push in this country that has accelerated as of late. We also agree that big pharma has a part though I believe that’s just to make us complicit and more calm. However it would remain to be seen If he is being drugged more than you and I, and that would be a heck of a discovery.
I would like to add that he is certainly being programmed more than you and I at least by the NGO’s, lobbyists, tel-a-vision and big tech platforms.
Where we differ is if he knows it. I think he knows it full well, and believes that he will be above it (“then they came for me and no one was around” and all). To me it doesn’t matter if he’s blackmailed (Epstein or whoever) or doing it on purpose, or going along to get along, it’s to the same end and the same cowardly lie.
Peter Welch has become a pandering fool. He’s been in Washington so long that he’s lost his moral and common sense and has no idea how his constituents feel, which is that biology is a defining difference, that should be respected first, then there can be other considerations.
His viewpoint adds more evidence to the well known transformation that happens in DC. Those that stay in the DC belt way more than a few years succumb to the warped Twilight Zone mentality, one where common sense, a grounding of ones core beliefs are lost to the temporary glitter of the days news.
We need to save Pete, lets bring Pete home. Save him from complete moral ruin, before the devil takes what little remains of him.
Blaming Washington is like blaming the gun. The Senator has a mind of his own. He never was the sharpest tool in the tool shed, but has seemingly chosen the option of being just another lemming possibly to cover for his own intellectual short comings.
Welch was never lacking in intelligence. Dont mistake arrogance, pandering and misguided activism for ignorance. He knows what he is doing and who voted for him. The sick electorate of modern-day Vermont is not disturbed by his actions and will be going to the bookstores early to get a good seat.
It’s nice to see others like you all that find the Senator to be lacking it all things wise.
Lets make sure his office hears from us too, this forum while cathartic is not particularly visible to one like Welch who has his head stuck up his … so far. Lets call his office, phone calls, emails, turn it up people. The Dems need to hear us.
Looks like a blizzard in here with all of these snowflakes!
Looks to me more like a **it storm with all of the supposed grown-ups around such as yourself who cannot evidently grasp the most elementary concepts of biology and DNA!
BTW, take your balls et al and go harass WOMEN elsewhere – perhaps somewhere where your very convenient anonymous handle can’t protect you from their justifiable wrath. Or…..just go try out for your local girls’ volleyball team. Show ’em how it’s done, pal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Remember the ‘ol “male chauvinist pig” label? Take it as a compliment.
Hey Welch why don’t you sit in the corner of the girl’s locker room watching them disrobe while drinking your can of Bud Light!
This is reprehensible and seriously irresponsible. For our Vermont Senator to make these statements is sickening!! Regardless of how you feel for the male that chooses to use a female locker room. What about the respect and protection of females that feel threated by this??
“Just Accept it ???” Senator you are a coward !!!!!!!
I have no doubt that those who questioned slavery, or Jim Crow, or the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII were told to “just accept it.” The gender ideology movement will some day be viewed with the same disgust that we hold for the eugenics movement of the last century.
Good point Mr. Mayor ! Personally I have a hard time distinguishing much difference between Doctors who would practice the sexual mutilation of children under the guise of “Gender Dysphoria” and Josef Mengele. I know it’s not viewed as politically correct these days to compare anything to the Nazis of WWII, but I see them as being just that sick !
this person is the poster child for narcissism…. one of satins own.
Today I was in a Price Chopper and witnessed a male cashier with a very deep male voice wearing a surgical mask and an ankle-length Prairie dress. Abnormal, as well as rather abhorrent behavior, but what the leftists encourage & applaud.
I though presumed he was either:
1.) In dire need of mental health help as are many exhibiting in this manner
2.) Or this physician needed to get a move-on in bagging those customers’ groceries as his hospital was likely paging him to get to his next surgical procedure ASAP.
Just couldn’t discern which it was.
Grocery cashier seems to be a popular occupation for the flamboyant non-binary person these days. They get to see a lot of peoples’ confused or indignant reactions and that fuels their fire.