The Georgia Senate passed a bill on Tuesday by a vote of 33 to 21 aimed to protect women’s athletics. The measure prevents biological males from competing in women’s and K-12 girls’ sports.
HB 1104 seeks to safeguard “students from harm” and maintain “competitive fairness” in school sports by requiring athletes to compete in activities based on the gender listed on their birth certificate. The bill states that local schools may have “separate teams for members of each sex where selection for such teams is based upon competitive skill, competitive fairness, student safety or the activity involved is a contact sport.”
State Senator Clint Dixon (R-Gwinnett), who presented the measure during the Senate floor session, said the bill “protects the rights of women to compete against each other in athletic competition that’s fair. Simply put, female athletes have the right to compete against other female athletes. A person who has gone through puberty as a man and who has developed the physical capabilities of a man should not be allowed to compete in women’s sports, no matter what gender identity he claims at the time. To allow otherwise simply destroy[s] the hopes and dreams of women who aspire to achieve on the playing field, in the pool, or in track.”
State Senator Nabilah Islam Parkes (D-Duluth) rose in opposition, stating that the bill would “marginalize and isolate transgender students, denying them the camaraderie and growth afforded by team sports and subjecting them to the indignity of being treated as outcasts in their own schools,” calling the measure “not just discriminatory,” but “a cruel negation of their humanity….”
Following more opposition from Democrats, State Senator Josh McLaurin (D-Sandy Springs) said in the minority report that the government was spending “time passing a bill that targets a handful of kids in the entire state because they’re different from us.” Further, McLaurin remarked that the bill creates a “safe space for a fraction of the public that doesn’t want to acknowledge the reality of trans people and LBGTQ people….”
Dixon returned to the Senate floor and said that he was “shocked by the minority report” and “some of the rhetoric that was spewed” and that the bill was about “girls and protecting the sanctity of their sports.”
Opponents of the proposed legislation have labeled HB 1104 as “anti-trans.” A Twitter (X) post by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said the “Georgia General Assembly’s attacks on trans athletes are cruel and ignore the assistance that girls’ sports actually need.”
However, proponents of measures say that allowing trans athletes to compete in women’s sports threatens women’s Title IX rights. According to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, “Title IX regulations require schools to provide equal opportunity based on sex. This requirement applies to schools’ athletic programs, including club, intramural, and intercollegiate teams.”
In a March 14, press release, The Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS) announced that it was funding a lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) “on behalf of 16 former and current female collegiate athletes” that are “challenging NCAA regulations allowing male athletes to compete in women’s sports.” ICONS Co-Founder Marshi Smith said, “We’re standing up for justice and the rights of female athletes to compete on a level playing field. It’s about preserving the legacy of Title IX and ensuring that the future of women’s sports is as bright as its past.”
After HB 1104 passed the Senate, Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones expressed his support in a post on Twitter (X).
“Biological males shouldn’t be allowed to compete in women’s sports. It’s just common sense. It’s time to provide our female athletes a safe and even playing field. I am proud to stand with my Senate colleagues to protect the integrity of women’s sports.
Biological males shouldn’t be allowed to compete in women’s sports. It’s just common sense.
It’s time to provide our female athletes a safe and even playing field. I am proud to stand with my Senate colleagues to protect the integrity of women’s sports. #gapol https://t.co/FzzNtTN33X
— Burt Jones (@burtjonesforga) March 27, 2024
The bill awaits transfer to the House for continued discussion.
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Debra McClure is a reporter at The Georgia Star News and The Star News Network. Follow Debra on X / Twitter.
