Democratic leaders break with party on bill banning gender-affirming care to transgender inmates
The fissure that began in the days after Kamala Harris’ loss to President Donald Trump in the presidential race was on display this week among Democrats in the Georgia Senate Democratic Caucus.
Monday-morning quarterbacks pointed to Democrats’ embrace of transgender rights — amplified by a barrage of Trump campaign ads saying “Kamala supports taxpayer-funded sex changes for prisoners” — as a key reason for her loss. Democrats across the country were left picking up the pieces to figure out the way forward for their party on the divisive issue.
Enter Georgia.
Four Democrats on Monday joined the chamber’s 33 Republicans to pass Senate Bill 185, which would ban all gender-affirming medical care for transgender people in prisons. The bill passed 37-15, with four additional Democratic lawmakers not voting on the measure.
‘I would like to see Democrats win’
One senator who broke with her party was the chamber’s Democratic Caucus Chairwoman Elena Parent of Atlanta. In a video recording shared on Instagram by the parent of a transgender child, Parent laid out the reason for her decision — polling shows little support for transgender rights and even less support for spending public money on gender-affirming surgeries for transgender inmates.
“If your party can get no public support it will always lose, and I would like to see Democrats win so that we can stop all these bills that bully transgender people,” Parent said in the video.
“We can’t get there when Republicans can weaponize this issue successfully against Democrats all over the country so that we cannot win in districts where we must win in order to have the majority to stop (Republicans’) bullying.”
Senate Democratic Caucus Vice Chairwoman Sonya Halpern of Atlanta and Sens. Ed Harbison of Columbus and Freddie Powell Sims of Dawson joined Parent in supporting the bill.
Halpern said her vote did not change her “commitment to the LGBTQ+ community.”
“I will fight for protections that ensure transgender people in Georgia can live their life safely and freely and I will fight back against real attacks on LGBTQ+ rights, because those are the fights that matter,” she said. “But I will not let my party be dragged into an argument that makes us look out of touch with the very people we claim to represent.”
A step too far
Although transgender people make up a small percentage of the population, issues surrounding them have emerged as a flashpoint nationally and in Georgia. Each chamber of the Legislature has advanced legislation this year to regulate transgender students in sports.
Republican Caucus Whip Randy Robertson of Cataula said he filed the bill related to transgender prisoners because, while the state is obligated to provide medical care to those who’ve been convicted and imprisoned, “transgender surgeries” is a step too far.
“They’re required to have health care contracts that involve the physical health of the individuals, the mental health of the individuals, the dental health of the individuals, so forth and so on,” Robertson said. “But there are limitations to what we should be required to do, and what Senate Bill 185 does is lays out those differences when it comes to certain types of gender assignment surgeries.”
A poll by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution conducted earlier this year found that a strong majority — 65% — of registered voters surveyed said they believe transgender people experience “a great deal” or “fair amount” of discrimination. Another 21% told the AJC that transgender people face “some” discrimination.
But recognizing discrimination exists didn’t mean they disagreed with the restrictive laws aimed at transgender people Georgia Republicans have been pushing for the past few years.
Just more than 70% of Georgia voters surveyed by the AJC indicated support for legislation that bans transgender student-athletes from playing team sports according to their gender identity. Nearly 60% of respondents said they “strongly favor” keeping transgender girls out of girls sports and another 10% said they “somewhat favor” the idea.
Changing public opinion
Senate Democratic Whip Kim Jackson of Pine Lake, who was the chamber’s first openly LGBTQ+ senator, said she doesn’t view the handful of Democrats who’ve supported Republican-backed bills that regulate transgender people as a rift in the party and instead displays the diversity of opinion that the party welcomes.
She said she understands that supporting transgender rights is unpopular, but noted that many movements throughout the country’s history have also been unpopular. That hasn’t stopped lawmakers from passing laws that might not align with public opinion, she said.
“But let’s be clear, public opinion also did not agree that Black children should be able to go to school with white children for a really long time and our laws had to change before public opinion did,” she said. “In fact, I would argue that my marriage — my gay marriage — public opinion did not agree with that until probably five or seven more years within my marriage.”
The bill passed Monday would also ban hormone therapies used by people with gender dysphoria, the medical diagnosis given to most transgender people.
Parent unsuccessfully attempted to alter the bill to allow incarcerated transgender people to continue to take hormone therapy.
“I don’t believe that taxpayers should pay for gender-affirming surgeries for incarcerated individuals, so I urge your support for (the amendment), but I will be voting yes on the bill,” she said in the chamber before her vote, surprising some in Republican leadership.
State Sen. John Albers, a Roswell Republican, pointed out a perceived fraction in the Democratic Caucus, noting that at least one of the Democrats — Powell Sims of Dawson — had supported three previous bills that impact transgender people.
“Some of you voted with us and others took a walk and did not vote at all,” he said of members leaving the chamber during the votes.
“Let’s make sure we understand: (these are) convicted criminals in the Georgia prison system. If you support sex change, drugs and surgeries with taxpayer dollars for convicted criminals, I really believe you’ve lost touch with your constituents and your grip on reality.”
About the Author
Maya T. Prabhu covers the Georgia Senate and statewide issues as a government reporter for The AJC. Born in Queens, New York, and raised in northern Virginia, Maya attended Spelman College and then the University of Maryland for a master's degree. She writes about social issues, the criminal justice system and legislative politics.
