Georgia Senate to vote on bill banning transgender students from girls' sports
The Fair and Safe Athletic Opportunities Act was introduced as a priority for lawmakers heading into the legislative session.
The bill, which is backed by Senator Greg Dolezal (R-Cumming) would require middle schools, high schools and colleges would be required to designate sports teams as male, female or co-ed based on a player's assigned sex at birth.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
Those assigned male at birth would not be allowed to play on a female team. Any student would be allowed to play on a male or co-ed team.
'Biological men do not belong in women's sports, period,' said Lt. Governor Burt Jones. 'This is common sense to everyone but the most radical liberals in Georgia.'
Earlier this week, Republican House Speaker Jon Burns introduced a similar bill making its way through the State House of Representatives.
Burns' bill would also ban transgender girls from girls' locker rooms.
RELATED STORIES:
House speaker introduces bill to ban transgender girls from school sports, locker rooms
State Republicans take first step toward banning transgender women from women's sports
Lt. Gov. announces support for GA Senate recommendations to bar biological men from women's sports
State Senate passes bill restricting what sports transgender students can play
Both bills come despite there being no confirmed reports of transgender girls trying to compete in girls sports anywhere in Georgia.
But some Georgia Republicans say that's not the point.
'How many incidents? What is our threshold? Do we want any young girl in the state of Georgia to be harmed because they were competing against a biological male?' Rep. Josh Bonner (R-Fayetteville) said.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
a few seconds ago
- USA Today
Obama weighs in on Newsom's California redistricting strategy amid Texas debate
Obama endorses California Gov. Newsom's proposed redistricting strategy Former President Barack Obama is speaking out about Gov. Gavin Newsom's proposed redistricting plan for California. And he's all for it. During a National Democratic Redistricting Committee fundraiser in Martha's Vineyard on Aug. 19, Obama said he believes Newsom's strategy is a "responsible approach." California voters will get to decide on redistricting options in November. Citing Newsom, Obama said, "He said this is going to be completely responsible. We're not going to completely maximize it,' according to the Associated Press. "We're only going to do it if and when Texas and/or other Republican states begin to pull these maneuvers. Otherwise, this doesn't go into effect." Obama's remarks come as Texas Republicans are expected to vote on a new congressional map intended to flip five Democratic-held U.S. House seats up for grabs in the 2026 elections. The vote comes after dozens of Democratic lawmakers ended a two-week walkout, temporarily delaying the bill's passage in a special session of the state legislature. Live updates: Texas Republicans set to approve Trump-backed new congressional map "I'd love to see the people of Texas reject what's happening, but it doesn't look like, unlike in California... they're being given the option of deciding whether this is a smart thing to do or not," Obama said, CNN reported on Aug. 20. In response, Newsom thanked Obama on social media on Aug. 20, saying the state has to stop President Trump's 'attempts to rig our elections.' "California will redraw our maps and neutralize any attempts Donald Trump makes to steal Congressional seats," Newsom said. "Thank you, President Obama for backing Proposition 50 and standing up for America's democracy." Meanwhile, Trump is continuing to encourage Texas GOP House members to do their part to ensure the state has a new redistricting map. '... which is exactly why Texas Republicans need to help us WIN the 2026 Midterm Elections, and pass their new Bill, AS IS, for the ONE BIG, BEAUTIFUL CONGRESSIONAL MAP!,' Trump said in a Truth Social post on Aug. 19. 'I call on all of my Republican friends in the Legislature to work as fast as they can to get THIS MAP to Governor Greg Abbott's desk, ASAP.'
Los Angeles Times
a few seconds ago
- Los Angeles Times
Why many voters in deep-red Northern California are fuming about Newsom's maps
COTTONWOOD — When the talk turned to politics at the OK Corral bar in this historic stagecoach town on Tuesday night, retired nurse Ovie Hays, 77, spoke for most of the room when she summed up her view of Gov. Gavin Newsom's redistricting plan. 'I don't want Democrats around,' she said. 'They have gone too far in controlling us. We won't have a say in anything.' Nearby, a man in hard-won cowboy boots agreed with Hays — using much more colorful language. He works as a ranch hand and said he'd just come from fixing a goat pen. 'The morons in charge, and the morons that put [those] morons in charge need to understand where their food comes from,' he said. He declined to see his name printed, like a lot of folks in this part of Shasta County and neighboring counties. In its current form, California's 1st Congressional District, which sweeps south from the Oregon border almost to Sacramento, is larger than Massachusetts or Maryland or eight other states. This is farm and forest country. From the glittering peaks and dense forests of Mt. Shasta and the Sierra Nevada, rivers course down to the valley floor, to vast fields of rice, endless orchards of peaches and golden, rolling grassland full of more cows than people. Voters here are concerned with policies that affect their water supply and forests, given that the timber industry limps along here and fires have ravaged the area in recent years. This is also Republican country. For the last 12 years, this district has been represented by Congressman Doug LaMalfa, a rice farmer from Oroville who is a staunch supporter of Donald Trump. But if voters approve the redistricting plan in November, the deep-red bastion that is LaMalfa's district will be cleaved into three pieces, each of them diluted with enough Democratic votes that they could all turn blue. The northern half of the district would be joined to a coastal district that would stretch all the way down to the Golden Gate Bridge, while the southern half would be jigsawed into two districts that would draw in voters from the Bay Area and wine country. Northern California finds itself in this situation because of power plays unleashed by President Trump, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Newsom and others. To ensure GOP control of the House of Representatives, Trump pressured Abbott to redraw Texas' congressional maps so Republicans could take more seats. Newsom responded by threatening to redraw California's maps to favor Democrats, while saying he'd holster this pistol if Texas did the same. The California Legislature is expected to approve a plan Thursday that would put new maps on the November ballot, along with a a constitutional amendment that would override the state's voter-approved, independent redistricting commission. If voters approve the new maps, they would go into effect only if another state performs mid-decade redistricting. Under the proposal, Democrats could pick up five seats currently held by Republicans, while also bolstering some vulnerable Democratic incumbents in purple districts. Now, voters in Northern California and other parts of the state find themselves at the center of a showdown. And from Marysville to Redding this week, many — including those who call themselves Democrats — said they were outraged at what they saw as another example of urban California imposing its will on rural California, areas that city people generally ignore and don't understand. 'Their needs and their wants are completely different than what we need here,' said Pamela Davis, 40, who was loading bags of chicken feed into the back of her SUV in Yuba City. Her children scrambled into their car seats, chatting happily about the cows and ducks they have at home on their farm. Davis, who said she voted for LaMalfa, said voters in California's cities have no understanding of water regulations or other policies vitally important to agriculture, even though what happens in farming areas is crucial to the state overall. 'We're out here growing food for everybody,' she said. 'Water is an issue all the time. That kind of stuff needs to be at the top of everybody's mind.' For years, folks in the so-called north state have chafed at life under the rule of California's liberal politicians. This region is whiter, more rural, more conservative and poorer than the rest of the state. They have long bemoaned that their property rights, grazing rights and water rights are under siege. They complain that the state's high taxes and cost of living are crushing people's dreams. The grievances run so deep that in recent years many residents have embraced a decades-old idea of seceding from California and forming a 'State of Jefferson.' Some residents, including LaMalfa, said if redistricting were to go through, it could further fuel those sentiments. And even some voters who said they abhorred Trump and LaMalfa and planned to vote in favor of the redistricting plan said they worried about the precedent of diluting the rural vote. Gail Mandaville, 76, was sitting with her book group in Chico and said she was in favor of the plan. 'I just am really, really afraid of the way the country is going,' the retired teacher said. 'I admire Newsom for standing up and doing something.' Across the table, Kim Heuckel, 58, said she agreed but also wondered whether a member of Congress from a more urban area could properly represent the needs of her district. 'I'm sorry, but they don't know the farmlands,' she said. 'We need our farmers.' We do, chimed in Rebecca Willi, 74, a retired hospice worker, but 'all the things we stand for are going down the drain,' and if the redistricting in Texas goes forward, 'we have to offset it because there is too much at stake.' In an interview, LaMalfa predicted that California's voters would reject the redistricting plan. 'We're not going anywhere without a fight,' he said. But should it pass, he predicted that his constituents would suffer. 'We don't have Sausalito values in this district,' he said, adding that politicians in the newly redrawn districts would be 'playing to Bay Area voters; they won't be playing towards us at all.' One of the biggest issues in his district recently, he noted, has been concern over wolves, who have been roaming ranch lands, killing cattle and enraging ranchers and other property owners. With redistricting, he said, 'if it doesn't go to the dogs, it will go to the wolves.'
San Francisco Chronicle
a few seconds ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Mike Collins argues he can unite Georgia GOP in challenge to Democratic US Sen. Jon Ossoff
JACKSON, Ga. (AP) — Second-term Georgia Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Collins is seeking to solidify support as he seeks the GOP nomination to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in 2026. Collins, who'd declared his intent to run in July, officially launched his candidacy Tuesday in his hometown of Jackson and then spoke Wednesday at a Georgia Chamber of Commerce luncheon in Columbus. He's trying to appeal to both President Donald Trump's base and more traditional business conservatives. The owner of a trucking company and son of a former congressman, Collins has won endorsements from dozens of Republican state lawmakers, despite GOP Gov. Brian Kemp backing newcomer Derek Dooley. Fellow GOP congressman Buddy Carter also is in the race. Collins argues he can unite the party. 'They know I'm MAGA — everybody knows that,' Collins said. 'But they also know that I can talk to the more moderate Republicans that we have out there.' Ossoff is the only Democratic incumbent seeking reelection in 2026 from a state that Trump won, making him a top GOP target. Republicans had hoped that Kemp himself would run, but he declined. Kemp and Trump had discussed seeking a mutual candidate to challenge Ossoff, but Trump hasn't chosen yet. Collins and his backers say they believe Trump will ultimately back Collins. 'I think it's a matter of time," said Bruce LeVell, who headed Trump's national diversity coalition in 2016 and spoke at Collins' Tuesday rally. Carter and Dooley are also seeking Trump's nod. Carter, who calls himself a 'MAGA' warrior, touted his support for Trump's budget law Wednesday and called for looser environmental and regulatory permitting. He said he hopes to win Trump's endorsement 'sooner rather than later' and expressed confidence that his fundraising would let him keep pace with other Republicans. 'I am obviously the conservative candidate,' Carter said. 'I'm the one who has been a mayor. I've been in the state legislature. I've been in Congress for 10 years. And my voting record is clear, I've been voting with Donald Trump 98% of the time.' Carter was mayor of the city of Pooler outside Savannah. Dooley, a former University of Tennessee football coach and son of the University of Georgia's legendary football head coach Vince Dooley, attended Wednesday's luncheon but declined interview requests. He's been setting up a run as a political outsider. Ossoff made his own case to the business community. On Wednesday, in a question-and-answer session before the chamber, he never mentioned Trump by name. He spoke to less partisan issues like supporting veterans' health care and seeking money for Georgia's military bases. But he did make the case that the Trump administration was hurting the United States' standing in the world by scaling back on diplomacy and international aid while cutting U.S. research and incentives for new technologies and roiling trade with new tariffs. 'Frankly we are engaged in tremendous self-harm right now in this competition with China,' Ossoff said. The national party has been attacking Ossoff, including a current round of mailers and ads arguing he backed higher taxes because he opposed Trump's budget bill. Collins is touting a list of supporters from each of Georgia's 159 counties, including state lawmakers and county leaders, building the idea that the party is choosing him even if Kemp isn't behind him. While it's common for campaigns to release such lists, Collins released his at a very early stage. He also has at least one supporter from each county when the state Republican Party doesn't have an organized committee in each county. 'I do think that Mike checks all the boxes,' said Ben Tarbutton III, a longtime Georgia business leader who is serving as Collins' finance chairman. Tarbutton was chairman of the Georgia Chamber when it endorsed Kemp's reelection bid in 2022. Collins also had some well-wishers present Tuesday who haven't endorsed him, including Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, another Jackson resident whom Trump has endorsed in his Republican bid for governor. Two top GOP contenders for lieutenant governor also attended. 'I don't know what the hell Brian Kemp is doing," LeVell said. "I have no idea.'
