In a final attempt to pass laws against transgender people that were previously thought to be dead in the Georgia legislature, conservative lawmakers are combining several discriminatory proposals into two comprehensive packages.
Originally a bill focused on the mental health of high school athletes, the revised bill now includes measures, according to trans journalist Erin Reed H.B. 1104 , that would prohibit transgender students from participating in sports teams that match their gender identity, prevent them from using bathrooms that match their gender identity, require parental notification for every library book checked out by a student, prohibit sex education before sixth grade, make all sex education classes optional, and broaden obscenity laws to support the banning of books. journalist Erin Reed, said that the revised bill would ban transgender students from playing on sports teams that match their gender identity, using bathrooms that match their gender identity, require parental notification for every library book checked out by a student, prohibit sex education before sixth grade, make all sex education classes optional, and broaden obscenity laws to support the banning of books.
The Georgia Senate passed H.B. 1104 on Tuesday with only members of the Republican party voting in favor. The bill now awaits reconciliation with the Georgia House of Representatives' version.
The current Georgia legislative session ends today, Thursday.
In a similar move, lawmakers added a ban on puberty blockers for transgender youth to a bill originally aimed at addressing the opioid crisis. This addition fills a gap left by a compromise in an earlier ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth which did not include medications that suppress sex hormones. H.B. 1170. A ban on puberty blockers for transgender youth was added to a bill initially focused on the opioid crisis. This fills a gap left by a previous compromise related to the ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth, which did not include medications that suppress sex hormones.
Of 14 anti-trans bills introduced in this legislative session in Georgia, not all made it into the two comprehensive packages. A measure to force the outing of trans youth at schools and another school bathroom bill both faced strong opposition when they were first introduced.
The hearing around S.B. 88, which would have outed trans students without their consent and restricted discussion of LGBTQ+ topics in classrooms, was farcical, allowing only individuals and groups in support of the bill to speak — like Gays Against Groomers and Log Cabin Republicans — while canvassing the opinions of those in opposition who packed the gallery only by a show of hands.
In another instance, a Georgia senator sponsoring the latest bathroom bill knelt down to assure a young girl who was lobbying lawmakers that he would protect her — before he was informed she was trans. He backed away, awkwardly muttering, “You’re attacking me.”
Georgia is aggressively pursuing an anti-trans campaign which goes against a potentially positive trend in other conservative states, where there has been a decrease in discriminatory anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.
In Florida, nearly two dozen anti-LGBTQ+ bills were defeated recently, and in the aftermath of Gov. Ron DeSantis ‘s (R) presidential campaign implosion, dozens of measures in Virginia were set aside, and Ohio’s governor abandoned his effortto limit access to gender-affirming care for transgender adults and minors. Meanwhile, in Washington D.C., Democrats successfully removed 50 anti-trans provisions from two budget bills that were passed and signed by President Joe Biden to fund the federal government. Even Fox News has been forced to acknowledge that transgender issues are among the lowest-priority concerns for voters.
Failed legislation has been reintroduced in a comprehensive package against transgender people.
Even Fox News has been forced to acknowledge transgender issues are among the lowest-priority concerns among voters.
