OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma House panel passed a bill Thursday to prevent transgender girls from playing on female sports teams at Oklahoma schools.
The House Rules Committee passed the bill on a 6-2 party-line vote with Republicans in support. The measure now heads to the full House for consideration.
Civil rights groups and the gay rights organization Freedom Oklahoma immediately criticized the bill’s passage.
The measure is one of several bills being considered by the Republican-led Legislature this year that targets transgender or gay young people. Other bills would prevent transgender medical treatments for young people, prohibit cities from banning so-called conversion therapy and prevent colleges and state agencies from having mandatory training related to gender and sexuality.
Other bills would prohibit transgender people from using a bathroom that corresponds with their gender. A Senate panel earlier this week passed a bill to prohibit the State Health Department from issuing birth certificates with a nonbinary gender designation.
