State Rep. Josh Bonner in the state House chamber after his transgender sports ban passed Feb. 27, 2025. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
The Georgia House passed its version of a transgender sports ban Thursday, which also strips out references to “gender” across state code, replacing them with “sex.”
“I think we’ve been very clear. No young woman should ever be forced to face a biological male on the court, on the field or in the locker room. And I’m grateful for this body’s continued leadership to protect girls, protect girls in sports at every level in Georgia,” said House Speaker Jon Burns, who listed the bill as a top priority.
The Riley Gaines Act, named after a swimmer who became an advocate for removing transgender women from women’s sports, passed along mostly party lines with three Democrats joining the Republicans in supporting the measure, Reps. Lynn Heffner of Augusta, Tangie Herring of Macon and Dexter Sharper of Valdosta.
The bill would bar schools of all grade levels including college from allowing transgender girls or women to play on girls’ or women’s teams. It also requires separate restrooms, locker rooms and sleeping quarters based on sex at birth at student athletic events.
“We must stand for clarity over confusion, for fairness over ideological pressure, and for the fundamental right for every student to feel secure in spaces that were designed with privacy in mind,” said Rep Chris Erwin, a Homer Republican who chairs the House Education Committee. “House Bill 267 is a measured, reasonable, and necessary response to growing concerns among parents, students, and educators alike. This bill is not about targeting anyone. Let me state that clearly: this bill is not about targeting anyone.”
Some transgender Georgians feel targeted.
The bill was stripped of changes to the state’s 2020 hate crimes act that LGBTQ advocates said would remove legal protections to transgender Georgians who become victims of hate crimes, but some advocates say removing gender from state code could have unintended consequences.
“If this were truly about sports, this bill would focus solely on athletics,” said Avondale Estates Democratic Rep. Karla Drenner, the Legislature’s first openly LGBTQ member. “Instead, sections four and five of House Bill 267 seek to radically redefine Georgia law, touching over 45 code sections from probate courts and mental health services to organ donations, child abuse reporting, and even funeral director discipline. How do these topics affect who plays on a junior high volleyball team? Nothing. And that’s the point. This bill isn’t about fairness in sports. It’s about rolling back protections for transgender Georgians in every aspect of their public lives.”
Some transgender Georgians say they fear effectively deleting gender from state code could create problems ranging from matters like driver’s licenses all the way to where transgender inmates are housed.
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning transgender athletes from women’s school sports, and the Georgia High School Association already bars transgender girls from girls’ sports. Democrats like Democratic Rep. Anne Allen Westbrook of Savannah said Republicans were using women’s sports as an opportunity to score political points.
“We all know that there is nothing going on in sports in Georgia requiring us to do this, but it polls well with primary voters, and the base has to have its red meat, right? If y’all want to punch down at vulnerable Georgians, say it with your chest, do your own dirty work, but don’t pretend you’re doing it for women and girls,” she said.
The House vote comes weeks after the Senate passed a version that does not contain the removal of gender. Leaders from the two chambers will likely meet to discuss which version of the ban will pass both chambers ahead of the end of the session on April 4.
Separately, the Senate has passed a bill to block state employees from receiving gender-affirming care from the state health insurance plan and could consider another bill to ban puberty blocking medications for minors.
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