The Peculiar Notion of ‘Equality’ in Nevada

If ever there was a finer specimen of irony prancing about under the desert sun, it would be none other than Lindsey Harmon, a proud member of the so-called Nevadans for Equal Rights Committee, wagging her finger at Lieutenant Governor Stavros Anthony for daring to suggest that women’s sports ought to be for—heaven forbid—actual women.

Ms. Harmon is deeply concerned about fairness. Why, she’s so troubled that she believes biological males ought to have the right to outcompete, outmuscle, and otherwise outmaneuver young women in sporting events. It would seem the “equal” in the committee’s title is of the peculiar sort that requires some women to sacrifice their trophies, scholarships, and ambitions so that men, in a feat of supreme generosity, may graciously claim them instead.

The alleged crime at hand—Mr. Anthony’s formation of a “Task Force to Protect Women in Sports”—has sent Harmon and her committee into a fit of righteous indignation, demanding an ethics probe for the reckless misuse of resources. One wonders where such enthusiasm for ethics was when Nevadans were promised “equal rights,” only to discover that in practice, this meant women must graciously step aside for any fellow inclined to borrow their gender for an afternoon on the track.

Harmon’s committee insists that Mr. Anthony’s task force is nothing more than an invention of his own making—an elaborate ploy to distract from more pressing concerns, such as the Governor’s “shoddy budget” and the federal government’s ever-generous proposals to cut funding from vital programs. It’s, they declare, the real scandal—not the absurdity of having to explain why it is unfair for a six-foot-two, 200-pound gentleman to send a teenage girl flying across a wrestling mat.

But let us all remember–fairness is paramount. And so long as women are willing to yield their opportunities in the name of progress, the Nevadans for Equal Rights Committee will rest easy.