How to keep transgender women out of sports competitions is once again the topic of discussion under Georgia’s Gold Dome as the state’s senators convened a meeting of a new special committee to protect women’s sports on Tuesday.

The hearing was attended by a group of college swimmers who said they were unfairly disadvantaged by competing against a transgender athlete.

Bans on transgender sports have gained political traction in recent years, as supporters argue that transgender women have an unfair advantage over cisgender women in competitions. Opponents say the bans provide a hot potato for conservative voters but have little impact other than scapegoating a small and vulnerable group.

In the recent past, the state of Georgia has passed laws aimed at keeping transgender girls out of sports. For example, in 2022, lawmakers passed a bill that would require the Georgia High School Association to require students to play on a team that matches the gender listed on their birth certificate.

The association did so, but Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones, who created the committee, said the bill did not go far enough and hoped to use the powers granted to the GHA in Parliament to extend the restrictions to college sports.

“I was still in the Senate when this issue was being discussed and tossed around, and I thought it was an issue that we as legislators at the time had an opportunity to do something about. But we ended up referring the matter to the Georgia High School Association, which I think was unfortunate and which I think was the wrong move on our part. However, we now have an opportunity to address the concerns from the past, and I think we should take that opportunity,” Jones said.

The women are all plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit related to the 2022 NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships hosted by Georgia Tech in Atlanta. Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer, won the 500-yard freestyle at the meet, becoming the first transgender woman to win an NCAA championship.

“I’m so frustrated, that’s how I feel. I’m frustrated, I feel betrayed, I’m heartbroken, I’m demoralized that we have to be here,” said Riley Gaines, a swimmer at the University of Kentucky who has become an activist against transgender participation in women’s sports.

Gaines read a letter she wrote to Georgia Institute of Technology President Angel Cabrera, claiming the university allowed women to be abused and traumatized by forcing them to compete against Thomas and share locker rooms with him.

The committee chairman, Republican Senator Greg Dolezal of Cumming, said Georgia Tech and the NCAA declined to participate in the hearing, citing ongoing litigation.

Gaines was joined by Reka Gyorgy of Virginia Tech, Kylee Alons of North Carolina State University, Grace Countie of the University of North Carolina and Kaitlynn Wheeler of the University of Kentucky. The swimmers said they had trained countless hours to be among the best swimmers in the country and they felt betrayed by the NCAA and Georgia Tech.

Alons said she was forced to change in a closet because Thomas had access to the women’s locker room.

“It was beyond ironic to me that the NCAA paid lip service to women’s equality while disregarding women’s physical privacy and allowing a man to take opportunities away from women. What good is a women’s division if a male swimmer can compete there and dominate the competition? And how can women have equal opportunities when a man can compete and win in women’s events, but no woman can compete and win in men’s events?”

According to the Human Rights Campaign, 23 states, including Georgia, have passed laws restricting transgender students’ participation in sports. Transgender activists say such laws put politics ahead of students and could harm at-risk youth.

“While those who support excluding transgender students from sports cite anecdotal evidence that transgender people have a negative impact on women’s sports, the data does not support this,” said Cait Smith, director of LGBTQI+ policy at the Human Rights Campaign.

Smith said trans women have been allowed to compete in the Olympics since 2004, but no trans woman has won a medal during that time.

“In addition to the Olympics, several professional and recreational leagues have trans-inclusive policies,” she added. “Many here today are focused on a student who won a championship final two years ago. If trans women have such a clear advantage in sports, why aren’t they winning many more championships and shaking up team rosters? At the college level, the NCAA has allowed transgender students to participate since 2011, though individual schools and sports can set their own policies. These specific policies are often tailored to their sport and community, as they should be. Decisions about what works best for a particular sport or school should be made by the schools and athletic associations themselves, not politicians.”

Dolezal saw it differently. He said the discussions would continue until the next legislative session, which is scheduled to begin in January next year. Then lawmakers could pass new laws at the state level.

“I expect to hold monthly meetings from now through December and then issue a committee report that will hopefully provide clarity on this issue, highlight the good work the committee has done and possibly outline legislative priorities that the committee believes are worthy of consideration in the coming legislative session,” Dolezal said.