Georgia lawmakers are considering restricting transgender participation in women’s sports

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – The Georgia Senate Study Committee to Protect Women’s Sports met Thursday.

Committee members, including Sen. Clint Dixon, are seriously considering banning transgender participation in youth sports entirely.

Dixon sponsored the bill last year and plans to introduce another bill next year.

“We have to protect women’s sports. They fought for years to be able to play. I still stand my ground and think we need to move forward,” Dixon said.

More than half of the states have passed laws prohibiting or restricting the right to participate in sports.

The committee began meeting several months ago. They heard testimony from student athletes, legal advisers and parents both for and against the ban.

Kim Snyder said her transgender daughter began exhibiting gender dysphoria at age four and entered third grade.

She says her child’s mental health is suffering because she is a danger to other athletes.

“Assuming that cisgender girls need to be protected from my child, my non-athletic, theatrical child with no hand-eye coordination but who really wants to join the intramural team because that’s where her friends are,” Snyder said.

Woodstock mom Lisa Blankenship said her daughter’s collegiate swimming career at Roanoke College was ruined when a transgender woman joined their team.

“It’s not about transgender, it’s about fairness in women’s sports,” Blankenship said.

Blankenship’s daughter Katie and several of her teammates joined the lawsuit against the NCAA.

The lawsuit was led by former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines.

The lawsuit was filed in March against the NCAA, arguing that allowing transgender women to participate in women’s sports violates Title IX protections.

Committee Chairman Greg Dolezal said he plans to review the testimony over the next few weeks.

The committee’s report will be available to all members of the Georgia Senate.

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