Some Georgia Republicans want to prohibit all transgender women athletes from competing in women’s sports, and they’re taking the initial steps toward enacting that legislation.
The Special Senate Committee on the Protection of Women’s Sports heard testimony from both sides of the argument in the state Capitol on Thursday.
“Y’all are focusing on a problem that just really doesn’t exist,” said Noel Heatherland of Georgia Equality.
Heatherland addressed the special committee on the protection of women’s sports on Thursday.
At its third hearing, the Republican-led committee indicated that it was considering prohibiting all transgender women from participating in women’s sports in Georgia.
“We need to defend women. We need to defend their sports. “We have to protect them in the changing rooms,” Sen. Clint Dixon stated.
However, Heatherland and other transgender community supporters stated that the ban would only harm young people and that the number of transgender women athletes in Georgia is so low that this is more of a solution in search of a problem.
Heatherland insists that this is not about safeguarding women’s sports, but about gaining political power at the expense of transgender girls.
“It is a problem that does not exist.” Instead of focusing on kitchen table issues that touch everyone in Georgia, we’re targeting a very small fraction of the population, which I believe is for political reasons,” Heatherland told Channel 2’s Richard Elliot.
Republicans have made safeguarding women’s sports a top campaign priority.
Lisa Blankenship, whose daughter is a collegiate swimmer, cares about justice and athletic equity.
“It’s not a transgender issue. It is about fairness in women’s sports. Allowing a male to participate on a women’s team completely devalues women and undermines their confidence and possibilities,” Blankenship stated.
The committee will meet once more to develop precise recommendations for the full Senate to consider.
