Story at a glance
- State Senators in Georgia this week passed a bill aiming to bar transgender athletes from playing on school sports teams aligning with their gender identity.
- The bill, which passed in a vote largely along party lines, would make it illegal for a school with transgender athletes to compete in sporting events against other schools.
- The bill has been condemned by LGBTQ+ advocacy groups and progressive lawmakers, though proponents of the legislation say it merely seeks to maintain equality in girls’ sports.
The Georgia Senate this week passed a bill that would ban transgender students from playing on sports teams that match their gender identity.
State Senators on Thursday passed the bill in a 34 to 24 vote, largely along party lines.
The bill, sponsored by 24 Republican state senators, would make it illegal for school sports teams with transgender athletes to compete against other schools in Georgia. The bill alleges it seeks only to maintain state interests in “protecting females from harm and preserving the fairness of sports.”
“No local public school system, local public school, or participating private school in this state shall operate, sponsor, or facilitate interscholastic or intramural athletics that permit a person whose gender is male to participate in any interscholastic or intramural athletics that are designated for females, unless there is not an equivalent interscholastic or intramural athletic program for males,” reads a portion of the bill, which limits the definition of gender to an individual’s sex assigned at birth.
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A similar subsection states that an athlete whose “gender is female” may not participate on sports teams “designated for males.”
LGBTQ+ advocacy groups on Thursday condemned the Georgia Senate bill, asserting that transgender children are “caught in the crosshairs” of what is merely a “divisive political strategy” by conservative lawmakers.
“Student athletes get many benefits from school sports, including camaraderie with their teammates and life skills such as self-discipline, goal setting and leadership,” Human Rights Campaign State Legislative Director and Senior Counsel Cathryn Oakley said in a statement. “Transgender students have played sports consistent with their gender identity in many states across the country, in some cases for decades, and there simply have not been problems.”
Oakley added that there has been “no evidence” that allowing trans athletes to play sports in Georgia schools has caused any harm to cisgender athletes or others.
“This unwarranted bill should advance no further in the legislative process,” she said.
Georgia’s Democratic Party also came out against the bill following Thursday’s vote, calling it a piece of “dangerous” and “extreme legislation.”
“It’s absolutely despicable that Georgia Republicans are attacking kids for political gain. This hateful bill is a dangerous ploy to rally political support in an election year by demonizing Georgia’s transgender community and threatening kids and teenagers’ wellbeing,” spokesperson Rebecca Galanti said.
The bill now heads to the Republican-controlled House, where it is also expected to pass. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) has also signaled support for the bill and will likely sign it into law if it reaches his desk.
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