Riley Gaines Act making waves in several states as part of keeping men out of women’s sports

First she made waves in the pool, swimming against a transgender woman, and then for the last three years, fighting to keep biological men out of women’s sports.

Now, Riley Gaines is inspiring lawmakers in at least two states to codify that “sex” does not equal “gender identity.” 

The Georgia House is advancing the “Riley Gaines Act,” or House Bill 267, which would bar transgender girls and women from playing on girls’ sports teams at all levels, including college, the Georgia Recorder reports. 

The measure, which passed a House committee last week, specifically bans biological men from women’s restrooms, locker rooms and sleeping areas, although it allows “reasonable accommodations” such as single-occupancy rooms for students who are not comfortable using the facilities that correspond to their birth sex. 

The state Senate passed a similar bill recently, but the House version contains language that would change the word “gender” to “sex” throughout the state’s code. 

“It addresses any number of areas of code, everything from the legal, in terms of dealing with legal documents, to organ donation, to crime statistics and reporting, that kind of thing,” said bill sponsor Rep. Josh Bonner, R-Fayetteville, according to the Recorder. “And that’s simply to make sure that when we collect that data, that we have very decisive and definitive data points so that we know everything from the crime statistics to how they’re annotating that sex on their organ donations and things like that.” 

Those changes would bring the state into alignment with President Trump’s executive order mandating that the federal government recognize only two genders. 

The measure’s next stop is the House Education Committee. The full body must pass it by March 6 for it to have a chance to become law under normal processes. 

West Virginia

In West Virginia, Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced “The Riley Gaines Act” as one of his priorities during his State of the State address last week. 

The bill, which is modeled after Stand with Women legislation fashioned by advocate group Independent Women’s Voice, strengthens the legal definitions of “male” and “female,” and seeks to protect women’s single-sex spaces such as locker rooms, rape crisis centers, dormitories, and prisons, the advocacy group said. It would also protect the integrity of sex-based data collection. 

Morrisey, a Republican, called legislators to pass the measure after they failed to approve similar legislation last year.  

“Riley Gaines is the national leader in the fight to protect women’s sports,” Morrisey said. “In West Virginia, we must honor her courage by passing the Riley Gaines Act, which defines sex-based terms and protects women-only spaces like locker rooms. We are grateful for Riley’s and Independent Women’s support on this initiative.” 

Gaines, who is an ambassador for the women’s group, said she was “honored” to have her name attached to the legislation. 

“Over the past few years, I have devoted my life to advocating for women’s sex-based rights, including in West Virginia,” Gaines said. “I was sad when similar legislation failed last year but encouraged when Gov. Morrisey made this a central part of his promise to West Virginians. 

“Thank you, Governor Morrisey, for ensuring West Virginia defines ‘woman’ and the sex-based rights of all West Virginians is codified in law. This is the year to get it done. Let’s go!” 

If approved, West Virginia and Georgia would join Kansas, Tennessee, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Arkansas and Alabama as states that have adopted similar legislation, impacting an estimated 24 million women and girls.