Macon Democrat Herring joins Republicans supporting bill that targets trans students

Freshman state Rep. Tangie Herring, D-Macon, joined 94 Republicans to pass legislation preventing “biological males” from participating in girls’ high school athletic events.

Herring, who was elected last November to represent portions of Bibb and Monroe counties, was one of only eight Democrats to support the bill, which targets transgender students. Similar bills in other states have sparked a nationwide debate.

Local activists, leaders and allies of the LGBT+ community expressed disappointment online but have declined to comment publicly about Herring’s support for the bill, which passed the House 102-54 on Feb. 27. 

“I understand their concerns, the advocates, and I respect deeply their personal nature on this issue,” Herring told The Melody earlier this week. “We have to make tough decisions and we have to make sure that we’re representing the people in our district … I listened to the constituents on both sides and I did what I was supposed to do as a representative and I casted my vote to reflect the district that I serve.”

Fourteen representatives were absent for the vote and 10, including Rep. Miriam Paris, D-Macon, did not vote.

“The issues in that bill have already been addressed by the GHSA, state board of education, NCAA,” Paris said. “I just feel like it was just political theatre. There are issues that are really pressing Georgians, such as how they’re going to pay their bills, dealing with inflation, dealing with the political division we’ve got going on, dealing with paying for medicine. All of those things are top tier issues.”

Paris added that she sees the bill, sponsored by six Republicans who represent cities around and north of metro Atlanta, as, “Republicans drawing us into a conversation that just didn’t need a solution. It was already fixed.” 

Reps. Anissa Jones, D-Macon, and Floyd Griffin, D-Milledgeville, voted nay. 

Like Herring, Rep. Dale Washburn, R-Macon, the lone Republican in Macon’s delegation, voted for the bill.

“I am absolutely opposed to a biological male competing with biological females in sports,” Washburn told The Melody. “I think that’s just outrageous and I was happy to vote for it in that regard.”

Washburn said he had not heard about any issues regarding transgender athletes in Middle Georgia, but “I have four granddaughters, so obviously I’m sensitive to that whole idea.” 

The bill is named after a former University of Kentucky competitive swimmer Riley Gaines, who joined more than a dozen athletes in a lawsuit against the NCAA in 2023 alleging it violated their Title IX rights by allowing Lia Thomas, a transgender woman, to compete alongside them. Gaines has since become a political activist leading the GOP’s crusade against transgender inclusion in sports.