Democratic Virginia gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger spent over six minutes on journalist Katie Couric’s YouTube channel on Tuesday attempting to explain her position on enabling biological boys in girls’ sports.
Transgender policy has become a significant issue in Spanberger’s race against Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears. Couric asked Spanberger on her channel why she thought the topic has been so “animating” in the election and requested her views on transgender athletes competing in sports, leading to a long and rambling answer.
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“[T]here’s a real effort to engage in some level of fear-mongering. And I really do believe that we should, as a society as a whole, demonstrate a fair amount of grace to people who are confused about, you know, when we’re talking about bathrooms or when we’re talking about sports participation, like what are we talking about,” Spanberger told Couric.
“And, you know, I recognize, and I’m a parent, I’ve got three daughters in Virginia public schools. And so I understand the fact that there may be confusion about, you know, what is my opponent, as a very clear example, kind of threatening,” she added. “And importantly, the willingness to fearmonger with or against kids who are trying to figure out who they are, who are in a challenging point in their life. Middle school and high school isn’t easy for most people, let alone if you might be struggling with or trying to come to terms with your identity.”
Spanberger also said that she believed transgender youth issues should be handled locally.
“And where it is, actually, I stand on these issues, I really do believe that a lot of these choices, whether it’s sports participation or bathroom usage, need to be made at the very local level with parents and teachers and administrators, and not necessarily dictated, certainly not by the federal government or the state government,” she said.
Throughout her campaign, Spanberger has remained vague on her positions regarding school bathrooms, locker rooms and sports.
Moreover, Spanberger sidestepped when debate moderators asked her on Oct. 9 whether she would rescind Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s executive directive ensuring bathrooms, locker rooms and other intimate spaces stay divided by sex assigned at birth.
Spanberger’s education platform neglects to mention transgender policy or Title IX protections in sports. She also opposed 2023 legislation that would have barred biological males from competing in female sports.
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