A Georgia Senate committee kicked off a new push by Republicans in the state to ban transgender women from participating in women’s sports, hearing testimony on Tuesday from five former college swimmers who are suing the NCAA and Georgia Tech over a transgender woman’s participation in the 2022 NCAA women’s swimming championships.
Transgender participation in women’s sports roiled Georgia’s General Assembly in 2022, when lawmakers passed a law letting the Georgia High School Association regulate transgender women’s participation in sports. The association, mostly made up of public high schools, then banned participation by transgender women in sports events it sponsors.
But conservatives including Lt. Gov. Burt Jones — a possible Republican contender for governor in 2026 — have said that law doesn’t go far enough and want lawmakers to pass additional laws in 2025. With Jones’ current level of command over the Senate, that means that whatever the committee finds, the Senate is likely to take further action in a year when many people will be positioning themselves for 2026 campaigns.
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