Georgia has just joined a list that already includes 26 states. The General Assembly passed the 2025 Riley Gaines Act, which bans transgender women from competing in women’s school and college sports in the state.
The name is no coincidence. Riley Gaines was a college swimmer and competed against Lia Thomas, a trans athlete, with whom she also shared a locker room. Since then, she has become one of the most visible voices against trans participation in women’s sports.
House Speaker Jon Burns and Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones celebrated the passage as a victory for what they call fairness in women’s competition. The vote took place on the same March 31 that Transgender Day of Visibility is observed, a coincidence that did not go unnoticed. The bill now awaits Governor Brian Kemp’s signature to become law.
