Lt. Governor Burt Jones and Riley Gaines Comment on Senate Bill 1 Becoming Law

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, April 28, 2025

ATLANTA | Today, Governor Brian Kemp signed Senate Bill 1 into law. Senate Bill 1, the ‘Riley Gaines Act of 2025,’ was a priority for Lt. Governor Burt Jones and bans biological males from participating in women’s sports across Georgia. Lt. Governor Jones and Riley Gaines issued the following statements in support of SB 1 being signed into law:

“Just like President Trump is delivering on promises made in D.C., here in Georgia we are keeping our promises and fulfilling our commitments to the people of Georgia – specifically our female athletes,” said Lt. Governor Burt Jones. “As the father of a female athlete – nothing is more important than ensuring that the protection of women’s sports is a reality in Georgia. I want to thank Governor Brian Kemp for signing Senate Bill 1 into law and Senator Greg Dolezal for sponsoring this priority. I also want to thank Riley Gaines and the other brave female athletes who shared their heroic stories and helped shaped this legislation; we couldn’t have done it without their courage and support. The Senate has always led the way on protecting women’s sports and with Senate Bill 1 becoming law, the protection of women’s sports is now a reality for all female athletes in Georgia.”

“Three years after I, and dozens of other D1 female athletes, were forced to compete against a man in a Georgia pool, the Riley Gaines Act of 2025 is now law. It’s an honor of a lifetime to know our stories help shed light on a grave problem of rampant gender ideology that means women are victims of government facilitated sex discrimination,” said Riley Gaines, host of OutKick’s “Gaines for Girls” podcast and plaintiff in Gaines et al v NCAA et al. “Thanks to Governor Kemp’s signature today and the leadership of the Georgia legislature—especially Sen. Greg Dolezal, Lt. Governor Burt Jones, and Speaker Jon Burns—Georgia has defined ‘woman’ in law and protected women’s sports. Thank you to all those who helped move this bill and restore truth and common sense.”

Senate Bill 1, the ‘Riley Gaines Act of 2025,’ is based on legislative findings relating to the need to protect girls’ and women’s athletics and the work of the Senate Special Committee on the Protection of Women’s Sports, which Lt. Governor Jones created and appointed. By enacting Senate Bill 1, Georgia would join 26 other states that protect women’s sports. 

For the latest version of Senate Bill 1, the ‘Riley Gaines Act of 2025,’ please follow this link: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69274