Senate Bill 1, the Fair and Safe Athletic Opportunities Act has passed the Georgia Senate. The measure bans transgender girls from competing on girls’ teams, or teams that do not match their sex assigned at birth. Senator Greg Dolezal sponsored the legislation.
“This bill is ensuring that we females in female sport and males in male sport,” according to Dolezal.
Dolezal said the bill levels the playing field for girls.
“All that we’re doing is in this, basically I think you’re talking about isn’t there a biological reality here. That biological reality as it relates to sport shows us that there is a clear male advantage when it comes to sport. What we recognize is the need to put this boundary of male advantage around female sport such that that advantage levels the playing field for females. Gives them a competition in which they are competing against other females and does not allow that male advantage to change the nature of the competition.”
Senator Kim Jackson proposed an amendment to the measure that would increase access to better resources for girls, including increasing pay for girls’ coaches.
“My heart breaks for the trans children who have to live in this moment, those who feel isolated and unsupported,” Jackson said. “Especially trans kids in Georgia where this General Assembly has systematically worked to eradicate trans youth.”
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order requiring individuals to play sports teams that match their gender assigned at birth.
