Fairness In Women's Sports Advocates Highlight Importance Of Georgia's 'Riley Gaines Act'
While Maine continues to illogically advocate for men to be in women’s sports, Georgia is taking the opposite approach.
Yesterday, the Georgia House of Representatives passed House Bill 267, which seeks to bar men from competing in women’s sports. The bill was aptly named after OutKick’s Riley Gaines, with the unofficial title being the "Riley Gaines Act." Since being forced to compete against Lia Thomas, Gaines has been a fierce advocate of protecting women’s sports, so much so that her work culminated in President Donald Trump signing an executive order keeping biological women as the only people allowed to compete in women’s athletics.
The bill passed by a resounding vote of 102-54, with all of the no’s unsurprisingly coming from Democrats, and of the 10 representatives who did not vote, nine were liberals. However, three progressives did vote to pass the bill.
Riley Gaines, center, gestures, while speaking with a panel during a roundtable event calling to protect women's sports held at The Captain's Club Golf & Event Center in Grand Blanc on Monday, August 5, 2024. Photo: Ryan Garza, USA Today Network.
Democratic Rep. Karla Drenner was furious that the bill was passed, predictably claiming that this somehow erases transgenders.
"Let’s call this the erasure of transgender Georgians act today," said Drenner, who was the first openly LGBTQ+ member of the legislature when she was elected in 2000.
Fortunately, Republicans and the bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Josh Bonner of Fayetteville, had the correct view of what this bill passing means.
"Female athletes deserve fair competition and that means the chance to maintain the women’s divisions distinct from men’s categories," Bonner said.
Macy Petty, a Legislative Strategist for Concerned Women for America, saw this first step in the process as a full circle moment for the state. She also urged the rest of the involved parties to pass this bill into law.
"It’s relieving to see the Georgia House move to protect women’s sports. Three years ago, Georgians saw regressive ideology on full display when the NCAA handed male athlete Lia Thomas a women’s national championship in GA Tech’s aquatic center," Petty said in a statement to OutKick. "I was at the championships that day with Concerned Women for America and we saw the heartbreak in athletes eyes as their governing officials turned their backs on them. Facilitating this discrimination is not just a betrayal to Georgia’s female athletes, but the overwhelming majority of their constituents who stand for safety and fairness. The GA General Assembly should act swiftly to ensure their female athletes can access the protections and opportunities afforded to them under Title IX."
Kaitlynn Wheeler, an ambassador at the Riley Gaines Center, said that while this first step in the process is certainly worth celebrating, she knows that there is more work to be done. Thankfully, many Americans want more laws such as this passed.
"…this fight isn’t over. Women and girls deserve fair competition, equal opportunities, and privacy in sport, protections that are being stripped away across the country. No female athlete should have to compete against a male or change in a locker room with one," Wheeler said. "Americans overwhelmingly support fairness in women’s sports. It’s time for lawmakers to listen and take action to restore fairness and protect the next generation of female athletes."
The bill will now head to the Senate for voting, and that will take place on Monday.