54 Dems Vote Against Protecting Women’s Sports as Riley Gaines Act Passes in Georgia House

The Georgia House of Representatives approved the “Riley Gaines Act” on Thursday, legislation that would prohibit biological males from competing in women’s sports.

Named after former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines, a vocal advocate for women’s sports, the bill passed with a 102-54 vote, with all opposition coming from Democrats.

The legislation, officially known as House Bill 267, will now advance to the Georgia Senate, which has already passed its own version of the measure.

RILEY GAINES ACT PASSES GEORGIA HOUSE—BANS TRANSGENDER ATHLETES FROM FEMALE SPORTS

The Georgia House has passed HB 267, the Riley Gaines Act, in a 102-54 vote, barring biological males from competing in girls’ sports and using female-designated facilities in public schools… https://t.co/oJpMRz0I7L pic.twitter.com/ZHy2jivDwk

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) March 1, 2025

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Riley Gaines, now the host of the Gaines for Girls podcast on OutKick, has been a leading voice in defending fairness in women’s sports.

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She became a national figure after tying with transgender-identifying male swimmer Lia Thomas in the 200-meter freestyle event at the 2022 NCAA championships.

Since then, Gaines has been outspoken about the need for laws ensuring that women’s sports divisions remain exclusively for biological females.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Josh Bonner (R-Fayetteville), emphasized the importance of maintaining fair competition in female athletics.

“Female athletes deserve fair competition, and that means the chance to maintain the women’s divisions distinct from men’s categories,” Bonner stated.

The 102-54 vote reflected a strong party-line divide, with every single ‘no’ vote coming from Democrats.

No Republicans opposed the bill.

Three Democrats voted in favor, while ten lawmakers abstained, nine of whom were Democrats.

The bill follows a growing trend of state-led efforts to safeguard women’s sports. Georgia’s high school athletic association has already banned student-athletes from competing based on “gender identity” rather than biological sex.

Georgia now joins 25 other states that have enacted similar laws preventing transgender-identifying males from competing in women’s divisions.

At the federal level, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on February 5, mandating that schools receiving federal education funding must restrict male athletes from competing on female sports teams.

The executive order has faced resistance from multiple states, including California, Minnesota, and Maine, which have continued to allow biological males to compete in women’s sports.

In response, the Department of Education has launched Title IX investigations against those states.

Trump has been vocal about the consequences of noncompliance.

He recently threatened to cut federal funding for Maine Governor Janet Mills (D) after a transgender-identifying male took first place in a high school girls’ pole vault competition.

With the Georgia Senate already passing its own version of the Riley Gaines Act, the next step will be reconciling the two versions before it heads to Governor Brian Kemp for final approval.

Given Kemp’s track record of supporting similar legislation, the bill is widely expected to become law.

As more states push back against policies allowing transgender-identifying males in women’s sports, the debate over fairness, biology, and federal authority is likely to intensify.

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