This op-ed was originally published in the Union Leader on August 12, 2024.
Displaying some deceptive political footwork, Governor Sununu posed as a moderate by signing HB 1205, claiming to separate sports in grades 5-12 by biological sex, while vetoing HB 396, a simple but crucial bill saying that separation based on biological sex is not illegal in New Hampshire. The Governor’s veto effectively announced that, in locker rooms, restrooms, and jails around New Hampshire, all separation based on biological sex is now formally banned.
With this veto, Sununu has ratified the far-left advocacy of his DOJ, who have been praised by leading Democrat Rep. Marjorie Smith for being even more left-wing than the DOJ under Democratic governors Lynch or Hassan.
In his statement on these decisions, Sununu claimed that HB 396, which would have merely allowed institutions to consider biological sex, was solving “problems that have not presented themselves in New Hampshire.”
Yet in House hearings on HB 396, Samia – a young mother from Milford – pleaded with legislators to protect her daughter, who was being bullied by biological males in the girls’ locker room. Samia’s is one of multiple nearly-identical stories we have heard from school districts around the state.
Although Samia’s representatives repeatedly reached out to arrange a meeting with Sununu before his veto of HB 396, he refused to speak to her. The Governor then lied by dismissing her unimpeachable story as a “problem that has not presented itself.”
Allowing locker rooms, jails, and restrooms to be separated based on biological sex, Sununu said, would invite “unnecessary discord.” Could he have been referring to the histrionic LGBTQ activists that camped outside his office to shout him into submission to their radical agenda just weeks ago?
Of these two bills, only HB 396 gave New Hampshire women and girls a real foothold to protect their fairness, privacy, and dignity, particularly when it comes to the aggressive and destructive gender ideology aimed squarely at our children.
Governor Sununu’s own Department of Justice – the most liberal DOJ of any Republican state in the country – has consistently lobbied to forcibly integrate biological males into women’s locker rooms, restrooms, and sports. It is no coincidence the Sununu administration disapproved of HB 396 – which offered an actual solution to protect women and girls – and approved of HB 1205.
Although the Republican legislators who supported HB 1205 were well-intentioned, the bill is not long for this world. The new law uses birth certificates as the definition of biological sex – an unwieldy and unworkable concept that has failed both practically and legally around the country. Sununu’s DOJ knows perfectly well that this law will soon be struck down by our liberal federal courts, leaving Sununu holding a fake political trophy and female athletes with no protections.
If Sununu had signed HB 396 – which was framed as clarifying and enabling legislation – it would have been difficult for progressive organizations even to file suit against the law. Instead, progressive organizations would have been forced into an expensive, district-by-district fight against a mosaic of different sex separation policies.
Only HB 396 offered a simple but solid basis for institutions desiring to implement common-sense distinctions between the biological sexes. Don’t take my word for it. Former NH Chief Justice and NH House Judiciary Chairman, Robert Lynn, outlined a compelling legislative and legal argument on the strength of and need for HB 396. But instead of supporting the stronger of the bills, Governor Sununu signed what will prove to be meaningless window-dressing legislation.
Before the ink was even dry on HB 1205, work to overturn these new protections was already underway. Meanwhile, Sununu’s decision to betray women and girls by vetoing HB 396 did not even earn him 30 pieces of silver. Polling shows the shrieking hordes outside his office represent only the most extreme far-left 10% of the state. These are people who will never vote for Sununu, nor any other Republican, in their lives, no matter how much he might cower before them.
It may seem that New Hampshire’s own identity is now confused. Sununu has just effectively declared that all sex separation is banned while, at the same time, purported to require sex separation in school athletics. The reality is simpler. Sununu has actually ratified and strengthened the campaign to abolish biological sex distinctions while posturing as a conservative using legislation he and his DOJ know will not work.
Governor Sununu ended his statement with these words, “The vast majority of Granite Staters share in this approach – because it is fair, balanced, and void of political considerations. By enacting these measures, we continue to uphold the principles of safety, fairness, and common sense for all our citizens.” Sounds good, doesn’t it? Now, tell that to the young women who have already been subjected to violations of their privacy and security in the name of equity.
