Mississippi State Senate passes legislation banning transgender athletes from girls’ sports

Mississippi is one of eleven other states who have introduced legislation with similar restrictions towards transgender athletes competing in women's sports, the Associated Press reports.

The legislative action by the 12 states comes following President Joe Biden signing an executive order during his first week in office banning discrimination based on gender identity in school sports and elsewhere.

The bill passed in the Mississippi state senate Thursday evening with a 34-9 vote, the AP reports.

"I’ve had numerous coaches across the state call me and believe that they feel there’s a need for a policy in Mississippi because they are beginning to have some concerns of having to deal with this," the bill’s sponsor, Republican Sen. Angela Hill, said.

The bill will now go to the Republican controlled House for additional work in the weeks to come.

Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves tweeted Feb. 4, "I am so disappointed over President Biden’s actions to force young girls like them to compete with biological males for access to athletics."

The pro-LGBTQ organization, Human Rights Campaign, condemned the bill as "attempting to sow fear and hate."

"These bills are not addressing any real problem, and they’re not being requested by constituents," Human Rights Campaign said in a statement.

"Rather, this effort is being driven by national far-right organizations attempting to sow fear and hate," the statement continued.