Democratic lawmakers in Washington, DC pushed back against the GOP-led protections for women and girls in sports last week, with frivolous arguments that the law would allow sexual predators to give genital exams to young girls.

This argument was not anchored in any language in the bill, as Republicans insisted that no genital examination would ever be necessary and that proof of birth gender could simply be determined with a birth certificate.

Still, many prominent Democrats, including House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-NY, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, used the sexual predator argument in statements and during testimony on the House floor.

This tactic has alienated some of the party’s loyal voters, who have deregistered as Democrats in response.

Distinguished law professor Gary Francione has been a lifelong Democrat dating back to the 1960s. In November, he voted for Kamala Harris and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Penn, who was one of 206 Democrats who voted against the bill last Tuesday.

But Francione, who is an advocate for LGBTQ rights, abortion rights and even a vegan and animal rights activist, was so offended by Democratic representatives trying to tie the bill to empowering child predators that he unregistered as a Democrat after last Tuesday’s hearing.

“It just made me very sad because it screamed a lack of integrity, a lack of honesty,” Francione told Pakinomist Digital in an exclusive interview. “This is the way you fight battles? By trying to insult other people who oppose you and disagree with and insinuate that they are child abusers or pedophiles? It seems to me that you have lost the game… I know not how they’ll ever come back from this.”

Francione has a lifelong network of fellow Democrats in law and other industries, and says many of them share his beliefs and will also resign from the party.

“I can confidently say from the people that I know who are Democrats that I’ve talked to that the vast majority of them are very unhappy with all of this and feel that the party has lost its way,” Francione said. “I know a couple who said they would [unregister].”

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Francione initially announced his departure from the party in a viral post on X over the weekend. Many of his thousands of supporters responded, insisting they would follow his lead in disaffiliating from the party in response to congressional representatives’ attempts to tie the bill to empowering sexual predators.

“That’s what I’ve done. That’s when I drew the line and switched registrations,” one user replied.

“I know the feeling. They drive you to it. Welcome to the club,” wrote another.

Francione believes the premise of allowing trans athletes to compete against women is “discriminatory” against girls and women, and he went so far as to call Democrats’ argument against the bill “insane” and “irresponsible.”

“I thought it was very unfair to the large number of very decent people who are concerned about fairness and safety in women’s sport,” he said. “These young girls, they train hard, they work hard, and then they have things taken away from them by men!”

Several Democratic congressional representatives have chosen to refer to the Protecting Women and Girls in Sports Act as the “House GOP Child Predator Empowerment Act.” These individuals include Jeffries, Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Vt.; Rep. Suzanne Bonamic, D-Ore.; Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fl; Rep. Whip Clark, D-Mass; and many of the other 206 Democrats who voted against the bill.

Ocasio-Cortez dismissed the fact that there is no language in the bill suggesting that any child would be subject to gender inspections during her argument.

“The majority is saying right now there’s no place in this bill that says it opens up genitalia. Well, here’s the thing, there’s no enforcement mechanism in this bill. And when there’s no enforcement mechanism, you open up the door to any enforcement mechanism!” Ocasio-Cortez said.

Ocasio-Cortez later proclaimed, “Trans girls are girls!”

But most Democrats who opposed the bill strongly opposed it based on the unfounded premise that it would empower sexual predators without even advocating for the right of trans athletes to compete in women’s sports, as that became a highly unpopular position in the November election to enable trans inclusion.

Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass, was one of those who took that position. Moulton has previously said he believed Democrats who advocated for trans inclusion was an issue that cost them in November, and repeatedly defended his position opposing trans inclusion despite pushback from those in his own party and state in the weeks following President Donald Trump’s victory and Republican majorities in the House and Senate.

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But Moulton still voted against the bill Tuesday, saying he doesn’t want children to be “subjected to the invasive invasions of privacy that this bill allows.”

Only two Democrats joined the Republican majority in voting for the bill, Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, and Vicente Gonzales, D-Texas. Their decision to break away from the rest of the party and vote for the protection of women and girls in sport reflects a growing widespread attitude among many voters in their party and independents, according to recent data.

A recent one New York Times/Ipsos survey found that the vast majority of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, do not believe that transgender athletes should be allowed to compete in women’s sports. Of the 2,128 people who participated, 79% said biological males who identify as female should not be allowed to participate in women’s sports. Of the 1,025 people who identified as Democrats or leaning Democrats, 67% said transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete with women.

Shortly after November’s election, a national exit poll conducted by the Concerned Women for America (CWA) Legislative Action Committee found that 70% of moderate voters viewed the issue as “Donald Trump’s opposition to transgender boys and men who play girls’ and women’s sports, and transgender boys and men who use girls’ and women’s bathrooms” as important to them.

And 6% said it was the most important issue of all, while 44% said it was “very important.”

Francione is one of many longtime Democratic voters who believe lawmakers in his party have failed to carry out the will of their constituents on this issue.

“Progressives have failed!” he added. “Progressives have created a Complaint Olympics… and it’s not working!”