Ban on trans girls, women from playing female sports passes Georgia Legislature

If signed by Gov. Brian Kemp, SB 1 would require students at public K-12 schools and universities to participate in single-sex team sports according to their sex assigned at birth. The legislation is limited to sports teams, restrooms and locker rooms. Private schools that play against teams at public schools and colleges also would have to abide by the law.

“Biological males have an inherent physiological advantage,” said state Rep. Josh Bonner, a Fayetteville Republican who shepherded the bill through the House. “Allowing that advantage on the field places females at risk.”

The bill would define “sex” as “an individual’s biological sex, either male or female,” something the legislation said can be observed or clinically verified at or before birth.

Supporters of the bill say people who were assigned male at birth have physical advantages over those assigned female.

“This is a bill that seeks to ensure fairness and safety for female sport,” Dolezal said.

Opponents of the measure say instead of protecting women and girls, as the bill’s supporters say is the purpose of the legislation, it opens them up to traumatizing experiences.

State Rep. Jasmine Clark, a Democrat from Lilburn, recounted incidents of women who are not transgender being profiled and questioned about their sex.

“This bill does not make our children safer,” she said. “This bill is a license to harass, to bully and to harm.”

The House vote occurred on International Transgender Day of Visibility, an event observed by advocates since 2009 that aims to increase awareness of discrimination faced by transgender people.

Legislators appear poised to approve some version of the measure into law this year, although there are no known cases in Georgia of transgender women or girls trying to play female sports in public schools. A poll from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution earlier this year found just more than 70% of Georgia voters surveyed said they support requiring student-athletes to play sports according to the sex on their birth certificate.

State Rep. Karla Drenner, an Avondale Estates Democrat who was the first openly LGBTQ+ member elected to the Legislature, said sometimes public opinion shouldn’t be used to guide legislation.

“Some people argue that polls show public support for banning trans kids from sports or locker rooms, but we must remember public opinion once opposed racial integration in schools and sports,” she said. “Public opinion once opposed women from playing contact sports. Public opinion used to say women couldn’t even vote. Justice is not determined by polling numbers. Laws should be based on fairness, evidence and equality, not fear or political trends.”

For years, the Senate has tried to pass versions of SB 1, sending bills to the House to languish. In 2022, the chambers compromised to task athletic associations with investigating whether there was a need to ban transgender girls from competing on girls’ sports teams.

The Georgia High School Association quickly voted to require athletes to compete based on their biological sex, effectively banning transgender athletes from participating based on gender identity.

This year’s effort is named after Riley Gaines, the Kentucky swimmer who tied for fifth place with a transgender woman in a meet at Georgia Tech in 2022. Gaines has since traveled the country pushing states to pass similar measures and served as a surrogate for President Donald Trump on the campaign trail last year.