ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns unveiled one of Georgia Republicans’ 2025 legislative priorities on Tuesday, a bill that would prohibit transgender girls and women from competing on sports teams designated for girls and women.

“This issue is simple; men don’t belong in women’s sports,” Burns (R-Newington) said. “The Riley Gaines Act ensures that from now on in our state — young women who have dedicated countless hours, days, and years of their lives to become the best they can be in their sport will never be forced to face a biological male on the field, on the court, or in the locker room.”

The bill is sponsored by State Rep. Josh Bonner (R-Fayetteville). Under the act, those who are transgender would also be prohibited from using changing facilities, bathrooms or locker rooms designated for women at athletic events. The bill would also bar athletic scholarships designated for women from being awarded to trans girls and women. Private schools that compete against public schools would be required to adhere to the standards set forth in the bill.

“This bill addresses a basic issue of fairness and ensures that female athletes in Georgia are valued and protected,” Bonner said.

In 2022, Riley Gaines was a swimmer for the swimmer for the University of Kentucky, and was competing in the NCAA Division I swimming and diving championships. Also competing in the event was Lia Thomas, a swimmer from the University of Pennsylvania, who would become the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I national championship.

Thomas won the title in the 500m freestyle, but the two competed in the 200m freestyle. They finished tied for fifth.

Thomas has since been barred from competing in women’s events by World Aquatics, the international federation recognized by the International Olympic Committee.

Gaines is among more than a dozen college athletes who have filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, accusing it of violating their Title IX rights by allowing Thomas to compete at the national championships in 2022.

In 2022, House Bill 1084 was passed by lawmakers, requiring high schools receiving state funding to refrain from participating in or sponsoring athletic events unless the associations have an executive oversight committee. HB 1084 also allows athletic associations to adopt policies preventing male students from competing in female-designated sports, which all member schools must follow.

Across the legislative aisle, State Sen. Greg Dolezal (R-Cumming) has already introduced SB 1, which would ban transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports at public post-secondary schools, colleges and universities. That bill is also a priority for Senate Republicans.

Democrats have their own proposal. State Sen. Kim Jackson (D-Stone Mountain) calls SB 41 the Equal Opportunities in Sports Act. The bill tries to ensure equal treatment for boys and girls teams.

On Monday, Jackson called on Republicans to join her in support of the bill if they truly care about helping female athletes.

“Our female athletes are here begging for real solutions to their real problems,” Jackson said. “And to be clear, our trans girls are the farthest from the problem.”

Along with immigration, the issue of transgender participation in sports was a central theme of now-President Donald Trump’s successful campaign to reclaim the White House in one of the most stunning political comebacks in American history.

Both Burns and Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones promised to prioritize banning transgender women and girls from competing in women’s school sports ahead of the current legislative session.

Last year, the Georgia Senate Protecting Women’s Sports study committee held hearings on the issue. Its members said they were considering an all-out legislative ban on transgender participation in youth sports.

According to the Movement Advancement Project, more than half of U.S. states have passed legislation banning or restricting who can participate in sports.

On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order proclaiming that the U.S. government will recognize only two sexes, male and female. The order claims claims that sex is “unchangeable.”

Trump banned transgender people from serving in the military when he was president in 2017, but former President Joe Biden repealed the ban in 2021. Trump reinstated the ban upon taking office, but legal challenges have already been filed.

Trump has also signed an executive order directing the nation’s military to end any diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, programs.

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