Potential Primary Highlights False Beliefs About Women
Written by on July 16, 2023
Based in the southeast portion of the New York City borough of Queens, New York’s 37th Assembly District (AD-37) does not seem likely to make political headlines. The district tilts so strongly to the Democratic Party that no Republican has even bothered to seek election there since 2012, when a brave Republican candidate was defeated by a margin of nearly seven to one. However, a potential 2024 primary is shaping up in AD-37 that could make history for all the wrong reasons.
The 37th Assembly District is currently represented by freshman Asm. Juan Ardila. Asm. Ardila holds a bachelor’s degree from Fordham University and a master’s degree in public administration from New York University. Before running for Assembly, Asm. Ardila worked for then-City Councilmember Brad Lander and for the Legal Aid Society. A progressive, Asm. Ardila was endorsed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
In March, a woman alleged that Asm. Ardila attempted to pull her into a restroom while she was intoxicated at a party in 2015. The woman, who has not identified herself publicly, stated that a friend of hers observed that she was intoxicated and pulled her away from Asm. Ardila. The same woman alleged that Asm. Ardila sexually assaulted a second woman at the same 2015 party by pulling her into a restroom, forcibly kissing her, exposing himself to her, and beginning to gratify himself; the second woman allegedly “bolted out of the bathroom and immediately told her friends what had happened.” Asm. Ardila later wrote to one of the women and made a vague apology for his conduct.
After the allegations against him became public, the Assemblyman released multiple statements, including the following: “‘I apologize for my behavior. I have spent time reflecting and I hope to prove I have matured since college. I’m committed to learning from this and I am able to demonstrate my own personal growth.’” A slew of Democratic elected officials, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, called for Asm. Ardila to resign. In addition, the New York Police Department opened a criminal investigation, and Assembly Democrats denied Asm. Ardila access to discretionary funding.
In June, however, Asm. Ardila changed course and denied the allegations against him. The Assemblyman released the results of an investigation conducted at his request, and those results (predictably) indicated no wrongdoing on his part. Asm. Ardila admitted to “consensually kissing two women at separate times” during the 2015 party and apologized for having engaged in unspecified “‘immature and regrettable’” behavior. At this time, Asm. Ardila has not said whether he will seek re-election.
If Asm. Ardila does run for re-election, he will face a Democratic primary challenge from Émilia Decaudin. Decaudin, 24, is a biological male who self-identifies as “transgender” and “non-binary” and uses both “she/her” and “they/them” pronouns. (According to the LGBT Foundation, the term “non-binary” is “used to describe people who feel their gender cannot be defined within the margins of gender binary. Instead, they understand their gender in a way that goes beyond simply identifying as either a man or woman.”) While Decaudin attended the City University of New York, it is not clear whether he has graduated. In 2018, Decaudin was elected “as the youngest-ever member of the New York State Democratic Committee”; he represented a portion of Westchester County. Currently, Decaudin is a Democratic district leader in Queens, where he has resided since 2020. He is one of the first two “transgender” persons to hold a district leader post in the state of New York. (As City & State New York indicates, district leaders “are unpaid members of a political party’s county organization who help to participate in political decision-making, including which candidates receive party support in elections.”)
Decaudin is a democratic socialist. According to The City, he “spearheaded a successful effort to amend state election law to affirm that nonbinary New Yorkers can run for political parties’ county committee positions that require gendered contests, with men and women running separately.” If elected, Decaudin would become New York’s first “transgender” lawmaker and New York’s first “non-binary” lawmaker. Given that five news publications offered fairly extensive coverage of Decaudin’s campaign announcement, it seems that he is serious about his campaign.
At New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, we do not know whether Asm. Juan Ardila sexually assaulted anyone in 2015. However, the Assemblyman’s walkbacks and vague apologies raise questions about his claims of innocence. If the allegations against Asm. Ardila are truthful, he is unfit for public office. Émilia Decaudin, on the other hand, appears to be a deeply confused young man who has embraced two dangerous ideologies: Socialism and transgenderism.
The potential 2024 Democratic primary in New York’s 37th Assembly District brings to mind two false beliefs concerning women that—sadly—are prevalent in our culture.
The first is the false belief that men are entitled to treat women as sexual objects. Twenty-first century Americans need not look far to see evidence of this destructive lie. In our culture, the belief that men and women should abstain from sexual relations until marriage has become archaic. Instead, our schools, our media, our television shows, our movies, and our songs teach young men that premarital sexual sin is expected. Pornography is available at our fingertips. Day after day—both inside and outside the church—we see examples of males engaging in sexual behavior that is cavalier at best and predatory at worst. Prostitution, and even sex trafficking, are illegal—but they exist nonetheless.
The Bible offers a very different perspective on women than our culture does. In Proverbs 31, the Lord reminds His people of the great value and worth that He places upon godly women: “Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: ‘Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.’ Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.” (Proverbs 31:28-30). In I Peter 3:7, speaking of husbands and wives, the Lord says: “Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.” Women are precious in the Lord’s sight. They should be precious in the sight of men as well, and should be treated accordingly.
The second false belief about women that must be addressed is the false belief that womanhood is a state of mind, not a God-given biological reality. Over the past two decades, the “transgender” lie has seeped into American politics and culture. According to that lie, if a male wants to be a woman, he can be a woman. It’s all about him and his feelings, and he gets to decide his own gender.
As Christians, we know differently. Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Our loving and creative Heavenly Father made each of us male or female. Gender is not an accident, and—despite the futile efforts of some men to make their bodies into imitations of women’s bodies—it is not changeable. Rather, it is a core part of each person’s identity. Like the rest of His creation, God called it “very good” (see Genesis 1:31).
