ATLANTA — Some state Republicans want to ban all transgender women athletes from competing in women’s sports in Georgia and they’re taking the first steps to make that into law.
The Special Senate Committee on the Protection of Women’s Sports heard from both sides of the debate at the state Capitol Thursday.
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“Y’all are focusing on a problem that just really doesn’t exist,” said Georgia Equality’s Noel Heatherland.
Heatherland gave the special committee on the protection of women’s sports an earful Thursday.
At its third hearing, the Republican-led committee signaled it was leaning toward banning all transgender women from participating in women’s sports in Georgia.
“We’ve got to protect women. We’ve got to protect their sports. We’ve got to protect them in changing rooms,” Sen. Clint Dixon said.
But Heatherland and other transgender community supporters testified that the ban would only hurt young people and insisted the number of transgender women athletes in Georgia is so small that this is more of a solution in search of a problem.
Heatherland insists this isn’t about protecting women’s sports but about making political gains at the expense of transgender girls.
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“It’s a problem that doesn’t exist. Instead of focusing on kitchen table issues that affect every Georgian, we’re singling out a very small percentage of the population which I believe is for political gain,” Heatherland told Channel 2′s Richard Elliot.
Republicans have made protecting women’s sports a major campaign issue.
But Lisa Blankenship, whose daughter is a collegiate swimmer, is about fairness and athletic equity.
“This isn’t a transgender issue. It’s a fairness in women’s sports issue. Allowing a male to compete on a women’s team completely devalues women and takes away their confidence and opportunities,” Blankenship said.
The committee will meet one more time to come up with specific recommendations for the full Senate to look at.
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