A bill aimed at protecting the mental health of student athletes became a bill banning transgender students from bathrooms, requiring schools to notify parents every time their child checks out a book from the school library, stopping transgender kids from participating in girls sports and banning sex education before sixth grade in a Senate committee Tuesday.
As the number of days left in the 2024 Legislative session decreases to a few days, lawmakers are tempted to graft legislation that has not yet passed one of the two chambers onto bills that have, giving their seemingly dead bills a new chance to reach the governor’s desk.
“Each provision of this bill is strongly supported by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to propose this legislation and these several pieces of the different bills, many of which we have heard in this committee and passed out of committee this session,” said Senate Education and Youth Committee Chair Clint Dixon. “While this bill has several parts, I think they each have a common thread of empowering parents to ensure that children are learning and competing in safe and supportive atmospheres, also dealing with sports.”
But LGBTQ+ advocates called the bill and the legislative maneuvering contemptible. State senators earlier this month added language banning puberty-blocking drugs from being prescribed to transgender minors to a bill expanding the availability of overdose prevention drugs.
“This is disgraceful politics: hijacking one bill designed to address student-athlete mental health concerns and another designed to fight the opioid crisis, and replacing them with attacks on Georgia’s LGBTQ+ youth,” said Human Rights Campaign Georgia Director Bentley Hudgins.
“The original bills garnered overwhelming support in the House and held the promise of improving the lives of individuals in crisis. Instead, they have been transformed into legislation that jeopardizes…
Read the full article here
