Also at stake is the mental health of transgender children, who are already more likely to attempt suicide. A recent survey by the Trevor Project found that more than two-thirds of LGBTQ youth said recent debates about state anti-transgender laws — including transgender sports bans — have damaged their mental health.
“Transgender kids and queer youth are killing each other over bills like this. I almost did,” said Bentley Hudgins, an LGBTQ rights organizer who identified as non-binary and ran for Seat 90 of Georgia House. “Schools should be a place where all students feel safe and have every opportunity to reach their full potential. All students in Georgia deserve to participate in school activities without fear of being targeted.”
“This attempt to ban transgender children from sports just because they are will pigeonhole all of our children based on gender, race and background and result in bullying of children who don’t fit the stereotypes,” said Jeff Graham , CEO of Georgia Equality.
Texas last month enacted a transgender ban, the tenth such law in the country. Kentucky and Indiana presented copycat bills last week. Most laws spur lawsuits, including in Idaho, which enacted the nation’s first ban in 2020. In issuing an injunction against the Idaho law, a U.S. district judge noted that the policy “is in stark contrast to the policies of elite sports governing bodies to regulate sports both nationally and globally.”
Both the International Olympic Committee and the NCAA have inclusive policies for trans athletes. So why would Georgia ban transgender athletes at youth level, where the goal is not a gold medal but, as Harbin said, character building and learning to be part of a team?
As State Senator Elena Parent, D-Atlanta, pointed out during a recent hearing on the bill, it wouldn’t make sense for athletes to be able to compete in the Olympics as trans athletes, but not in a Georgia high school.
There are no reports of transgender girls dominating state championships or getting all the lucrative scholarships in Georgia. But the bill, which failed to pass last year, now appears to have Gov. Brian Kemp’s blessing. Kemp is vying with Republican challenger David Perdue for the most regressive education platform to brush up on his conservative credentials.
In an oblique reference to transgender students participating in school sports, Kemp said, “Having three daughters who all competed in sports through middle and high school, Marty[his wife]and I want to protect the same, equal opportunities for success that our girls have.” had for all students of Georgia.”
Georgia State University grad student Camden Hughes is part of a top-flight women’s rugby team with two transgender teammates.
“None of my teammates feel uncomfortable playing with transgender teammates,” Hughes said. “Taking away the opportunities of these transgender teammates would take away members of our team, which is our family. This is not a bill to help athletes. And for the record, transgender athletes have never been a threat to me. But maybe that’s just because I’m good at what I do.”
