The Texas House of Representatives passed a controversial bill on Thursday that would ban transgender students from participating in school sports based on their biological sex at birth.
CBS News and NBC News reported that the Republican-controlled House voted 76-54 to pass House Bill 25. It's now heading to the Senate, where it is expected to pass.
In a statement, LGBTQ+ political advocacy organization Equality Texas said the passing of the bill is "a hateful, targeted attack on transgender people living in Texas."
"Extremists in our Legislature have continuously leveraged cruel rhetoric and rampant misinformation to coordinate this attack on the transgender community — young children in particular — and have sent a clear message that Texas is not a safe place for them to live," said Ricardo Martinez, the organization's Chief Executive Officer.
The bill, which Rep. Valoree Swanson introduced, would allow transgender male athletes to play on an only men's team if there were no other options available for the sport, CBS Sports reported
According to NBC News, the bill's co-author Rep. Stephanie Klick said the bill was about fairness to girls.
After the bill was passed, critics weighed in, including the Texas ACLU, which tweeted that the "fight doesn't end tonight."
