Washington
CNN
—
Transgender high school students in Georgia were banned Wednesday from competing on sports teams that match their gender identity after the state high school association applied a controversial new law to implement the restriction.
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp last week signed a bill giving the Georgia High School Association the power to enact such a ban, a departure from similar bans in other states that come directly from their legislatures. The federation, which oversees most public schools and some private schools in the state, voted unanimously on Wednesday, amending its bylaws to allow a student’s gender to be determined by the information on their birth certificate.
“Following my signature on HB 1084, the Georgia High School Association voted today to protect fairness in school athletics by unanimously allowing youth to compete according to the gender listed on their birth certificates. Proud to have championed this effort in Georgia!” Kemp tweeted.
Robin Hines, executive director of the Georgia High School Association, told CNN on Wednesday that he was not aware of any students in the state who would be directly impacted by the decision, but “we are not holding any information about it.” He added that the ban will take effect immediately.
The debate about the inclusion of transgender athletes, particularly women and girls, has become a political flashpoint, particularly among conservatives. In promoting such action, conservatives have argued that transgender women and girls have physical advantages over cisgender women and girls in sport, although a 2017 report found “no direct or consistent research” on such an advantage.
So far this year, a number of other GOP-run states have enacted such bans, including Arizona, Iowa, Oklahoma and South Dakota. Last year, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Montana, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia enacted similar sports bans, infuriating LGBTQ advocates who argued conservatives are creating a problem where none exists.
Opponents slammed Kemp and the Georgia High School Association Wednesday over the new ban, with the Human Rights Campaign, one of the country’s largest LGBTQ rights groups, saying it “deepens Georgia’s troubling track record on these issues and needlessly harms one already vulnerable.” Population. ”
“The legislature was on the brink of disruption last month when Gov. Kemp put his thumb on the scales to bring the issue up again. Now the Georgia High School Association has followed his example and enacted this ban, and Georgia’s transgender students will suffer. This is a farce and should be reversed,” said Dewayne Johnson, Georgia state director of the Human Rights Campaign, in a statement.
