ATLANTA (AP) 鈥� A Georgia Senate committee kicked off a new push by Republicans in the state to ban transgender women from participating in women鈥檚 sports, hearing testimony on Tuesday from five former college swimmers and Georgia Tech over a transgender woman's participation in the 2022 NCAA women's swimming championships.
Transgender participation in women's sports in 2022, when lawmakers passed a law letting the Georgia High School Association regulate transgender women's participation in sports. The association, mostly made up of public high schools, by transgender women in sports events it sponsors.
But conservatives including 鈥� a possible Republican contender for governor in 2026 鈥� have said that law doesn't go far enough and want lawmakers to pass additional laws in 2025. With Jones' current level of command over the Senate, that means that whatever the committee finds, the Senate is likely to take further action in a year when many people will be positioning themselves for 2026 campaigns.
鈥淲e鈥檙e here to protect female athletes and that鈥檚 what we should be doing as legislators," Jones told the committee Tuesday. "And I know that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e going to be able to do at the high school level, because we鈥檙e going to take those reins away from a private organization, from the Georgia High School Association, because as elected officials, that should be our duty. And we鈥檙e going to protect female sports at our state-run universities and public universities that we fund here in the state of Georgia.鈥�
But opponents say Tuesday's focus on the participation in the 2022 event by , a transgender woman who swam for the University of Pennsylvania and , doesn't prove the need for legislation.
鈥淢any here today are focused on one student who won one title at one championship two years ago," said Cait Smith, the director of LGBTQI+ policy at the liberal-leaning Center for American Progress. 鈥淚f trans women have such a clear advantage in sports, why do we not see them winning many more championships and filling team rosters at the college level?鈥�
At least have passed laws to restrict transgender women from participating and high school sports, and three more states have passed laws to ban participation only at the high school level, according to the Movement Advancement Project, a gay rights group.
Both Republican Sen. Greg Dolezal from Cumming, who is chairing the committee, and the former swimmers repeatedly took aim at Georgia Tech. The university hosted the 2022 championships, and the swimmers say the university shares blame for allowing Thomas to participate and share a locker room with other swimmers.
Former University of Kentucky swimmer , whose advocacy on the issue has made her a conservative political star, read an open letter to Georgia Tech President Angel Cabrera.
鈥淵ou allowed college women to be traumatized and violated on your campus in this way. Why didn鈥檛 you protect us?鈥� Gaines asked.
Dolezal said Georgia Tech and the University System of Georgia declined to testify on Tuesday, citing the lawsuit. But both have denied in court papers that they had any role in deciding whether Thomas would participate or what locker room she would use.
The NCAA has since revised its policy on transgender women's participation, saying it will follow the rules of respective athletics federations. World Aquatics, the swimming governing body, banned transgender women who have been through male puberty from competing in women鈥檚 races. That means Thomas wouldn't be allowed to swim in NCAA events today.
Many Republicans say they believe a large majority of the public supports their efforts, and there was a push to in 2022 elections. Jeff Graham of Georgia Equality said gay rights groups estimate that conservative groups spent millions on advertising criticizing transgender women鈥檚 participation in Georgia鈥檚 2022 U.S. Senate race seeking to aid Republican , who Democratic incumbent . Gaines made multiple appearances with Warnock, and the issue of Walker's stump speech.
Measures restricting transgender women's participation in sports probably could have passed Georgia's conservative Senate this year. The key question is what the more moderate House is willing to agree to. A spokesperson for House Speaker Jon Burns didn't immediately reply to an email seeking comment Tuesday, but opponents of further action have said they got clear signals last year that House leadership wasn't interested. That's in part because more House Republicans face more competitive races with Democrats than in the Senate, where most districts are drawn to place one party firmly in control. ___ This story corrects the spelling of Cait Smith's name, the director of LGBTQI+ policy at the liberal-leaning Center for American Progress. It is not Kate Smith.
Jeff Amy, The Associated Press
