Georgia
Georgia GOP-controlled Senate passes ban on trans girls from school sports teams • Georgia Recorder
The Georgia state Senate Thursday passed legislation banning transgender girls from playing on girls’ sports teams in schools along mostly party lines, and the bill’s sponsor also suggested that the body will take action to ban puberty-blocking drugs.
“The recognition of female sport is important because without a boundary around female sport that excludes male advantage, males would dominate every major sporting competition,” said sponsor Cumming Republican Greg Dolezal.
“The purpose is to include females by excluding males,” he added. “That’s part and parcel to the mere existence of female sport.”
Senate Bill 1 passed 35-17, with Democratic Sens. Freddie Powell Sims of Dawson and Ed Harbison of Columbus joining their Republican colleagues in support.
Separately, House Speaker Jon Burns held a press conference Tuesday to unveil his chamber’s plan for a ban on transgender girls playing girls’ sports.
Before either bill can become law, it will need to pass both chambers by early April, and both Burns and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones will likely be jockeying to ensure their version is the one to experience the squiggle of Gov. Brian Kemp’s bill-signing pen.
Jones and Burns may have had a chance to hash out the differences on a recent trip. Both men were in Washington Wednesday as President Donald Trump signed an executive order that also seeks to ban transgender girls from playing girls’ sports.
All the attention has not been pleasant for many trans Georgians, who call recent sports bans and other legislative and executive actions a slap in the face.
“I was crying most of yesterday because I found out that the executive order was going to happen around 24 hours before it did, and then at that point I was like, oh my gosh, between that and SB1, basically everyone was trying to keep me from playing,” said Soju Hokari, a transgender Emory University student who plays ultimate, also known as ultimate Frisbee, for the school’s gender expansive and women’s team as well as for Atlanta Soul, a local semi-professional team.
Hokari said under Trump’s executive order and the proposed state law, she could continue to play for Atlanta Soul but not at Emory. The bill would apply to interscholastic teams of all grade levels and colleges, both public colleges and private colleges that compete against public schools.
She said ultimate leagues emphasize gender inclusivity across all levels. In 2020 USA Ultimate adopted a gender inclusion policy with three divisions, men’s, women’s and mixed, but recommends that all organizers allow players to compete in whichever division they feel most comfortable with.
Hokari said the bill oversteps decisions made by leagues, which are closer to the specific needs of athletes than the state or federal government.
“I personally think that all trans athletes should just be able to play, but the leagues all have these mechanisms in place to try to have a sport-specific way of ensuring fairness and inclusion in their sports, and the problem with the law is that it’s trying to supersede that by being like, ‘actually, we know better than these individual sports.’”
Democrats called the bill a solution in search of a problem, arguing that transgender people make up less than 1% of the state’s population and an even smaller subset of transgender Georgians are student athletes.
Republicans often cite swimmer Riley Gaines, the namesake of the House bill, who became an icon for the movement against transgender participation in girls’ sports after she and other swimmers competed against and shared a locker room with a transgender woman at a 2022 championship held at Georgia Tech in Atlanta.
The NCAA changed its eligibility rules after that competition following numerous complaints.
Stone Mountain Democratic Sen. Kim Jackson offered an amendment she said would have addressed issues that are more likely to prevent girls from playing sports than transgender competitors. The bill called for measures like equalizing pay for coaches and requiring equal access to fields and equipment for girls’ and boys’ teams.
In a floor debate, Democrats said the bill could lead to challenges over cisgender female athletes who may not look conventionally feminine, or that it could require transgender boys, who may appear masculine and have bigger muscles because of testosterone injections, to play on girls’ teams.
“So then a trans boy will now compete in girls’ sports?” asked Savannah Democratic Rep. Derek Mallow.
“A trans girl – a trans boy – a female. Let’s take the trans thing off. Let’s speak to this in terms of biology, in terms of females,” Dolezal said. “Females will compete in female sport, and males will compete in male sport. I believe there are other bills that currently do address or will address the puberty blockers or even the injection of testosterone.”
“That’s not what the core of this bill discusses or contemplates,” he added. “I think we may see some downstream changes that might even change the reality or potential for what you’re talking about.”
Savannah Republican Sen. Ben Watson has filed a bill that would ban the use of puberty blockers or hormone therapy on minors.
Both versions of the ban specify that people assigned male at birth cannot play on interscholastic teams for people assigned female at birth, but girls would be allowed to play on boys’ teams under some circumstances. They also specify that schools must maintain separate locker facilities for either gender and outline methods to complain for athletes who feel their rights have been infringed.
Frontline Policy, an influential evangelical conservative lobbying group, made an expanded transgender sports ban a top priority. Speaking after Burns’ press conference Tuesday, Frontline founder and president Cole Muzio said he’s neutral between the House and Senate bills.
“We just want girls protected in the state of Georgia, and I think the House has done a great job with this piece of legislation, very close to what we’ve advocated for,” he said. “The Senate, I know has been working hard on this, and I think there’s unity in this building between the governor’s office, the Speaker of the House and the Senate. Good language is going to pass, so we’re excited to see what happens.”
Senior reporter Stanley Dunlap contributed to this report.
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ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Northwest Georgia’s 14th congressional district took center stage in American politics late Friday night with the astonishing news that U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is resigning.
Citing a disillusionment with the nation’s current political climate after a stunning break with President Donald Trump, Greene said her resignation would take effect Jan. 5, 2026.
READ: Marjorie Taylor Greene’s full statement
Georgia’s 14th congressional district stretches from the Chattanooga, Tennessee, metropolitan area in an east/south arc toward toward metro Atlanta’s outlying suburbs.
The district’s major population centers are Dalton (Whitfield County); Rome (Floyd County); Cartersville (Bartow County area near Paulding County); and portions of Paulding County (Dallas).
The district includes most, if not all, of Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Floyd, Gordon, Haralson, Murray, Paulding, Polk, Walker, Whitfield, and part of Pickens counties.
PROGRAMMING NOTE: This Sunday’s On The Record With Atlanta News First will feature an in-depth look at Marjorie Taylor Greene’s resignation and its impact on Georgia and the nation. Watch On The Record With Atlanta News First at 11 a.m.
While mostly white, the district has notable Hispanic populations concentrated around Dalton with its carpet-industry workforce.
Its economy is centering around manufacturing (particularly in Dalton’s carpet/rug industry); agriculture, and small business.
The Cook Partisan Voting Index rates the district solidly Republican, as does Ballotpedia. Historically GOP, it was represented by Tom Graves before his retirement in 2020.
Greene won the district initially in that election, winning a crowded GOP primary in a runoff before winning outright in November 2020.
She won reelection in 2022 – again, facing several GOP challengers – and 2024, where no Republican opposed her in the primary.
Arguably once President Trump’s staunchest ally in Congress, Greene’s relationship with the now-47th U.S. president has been deteriorating in recent weeks.
Georgia’s nationally watched midterms in the 2026 primary is May 19, 2026. Gov. Brian Kemp may decide to call for a special election before that date, or could simply let the seat remain vacant until the state’s primary rolls around.
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A shot at the College Football Playoff is on the line for both No. 15 Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh ahead of a prime-time matchup Saturday night.
The Yellow Jackets (9-1, 6-1) will clinch a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game on Dec. 6 if they beat Pitt (7-3, 5-1), while a Panthers’ victory would keep them alive for the same goal heading into their regular-season finale against No. 14 Miami.
“This is a championship game in its own right,” Georgia Tech coach Brent Key said Tuesday. “That’s the way we’re viewing it, that’s the way we’re approaching it. It’s on everybody to get the job done.”
Regardless of the outcome, the ACC standings remain in flux. No. 19 Virginia, SMU, Miami and Duke are all in the mix for the title game, but Georgia Tech is the only team completely in control of its destiny.
Key said simply put, games this time of year are “different,” and he doesn’t “shy away from that.”
Georgia Tech trailed Boston College (1-10, 0-7) 28-17 late in its game last week, but rallied to escape with a 36-34 victory. Still, the scare against the conference cellar dweller coupled with a Nov. 1 loss at N.C. State has created an uneasy feeling around the Yellow Jackets, particularly with their struggling defense.
Georgia Tech leads the Football Bowl Subdivision in total offense, but resides near the bottom of 136 teams in total defense.
“I got after them pretty good,” Key said of his defense. “But it’s telling them, ‘You’re good. Let’s fix it and go play that way.’”
Pitt is coming off a disappointing game in its own right, albeit one with no bearing on ACC positioning. The Panthers stepped out of conference play and fell flat in a 37-15 defeat against No. 9 Notre Dame, but still would reach the conference title game with wins in their final two games plus one loss by either Virginia or SMU.
“We just take it one game at a time,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said. “We treat everything the same. The word pressure is bad. Our guys know what they’ve got to do. They’ve got to go out and win one football game.”
Pitt is seeking its third trip to the ACC title game under Narduzzi and first since 2021, while Georgia Tech is aiming for its first appearance since 2014.
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AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A competition at the Augusta fairgrounds offered more than trophies or scholarships Thursday afternoon.
The event could kick start careers for student competitors.
Thirteen schools from across the region competed in team and individual challenges that test every skill of a tradesman. Projects included welding, framing, electrical work and plumbing.
Judges evaluated competitors not just for the competition, but also looked at possible future employees.
Scott Clark, CEO of RWI Construction and parent of a competitor, said the event serves multiple purposes.
“It’s a great thing and it’s even better when we can hire them, and so that’s the ultimate goal is to get these kids educated in our industry and get them hired locally,” Clark said. “It gives them an opportunity for great employment great salary and compensation and it’s just a joy to see them when they come on board.”
Kenneth Price, a Lincoln County parent, said he enjoys watching his child’s progress in the trades.
“I’m enjoying watching everything he does and he comes home from school and tells us about his welding and everything and I just enjoy hearing it,” Price said.
Winners of the competition will advance to compete at the state level in Atlanta.
Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
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