JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A ban on transgender people using bathrooms, locker rooms and dormitories that align with their gender identities sailed through the Mississippi House and Senate on Thursday after lawmakers revived it.
Lawmakers pushed the proposal through the House and Senate in the final days of their four-month session after negotiations between the chambers broke down Monday on an earlier proposal. Republicans said they received a flurry of messages urging them to bring the bill back to life.
“This probably, to a lot of our constituents and to a lot of people in this chamber, is probably the most important bill that we brought up,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Dean Kirby, a Republican.
The legislation would require all public education institutions to equip their buildings with single-sex restrooms, changing areas and dormitories.
People would only be allowed to enter spaces that correspond to their sex assigned at birth, regardless of their appearance or any procedures they’ve had to affirm their gender identity.
Those who violate the policy could be sued, but schools, colleges and universities would be protected from liability.
Democrats said the bill would put transgender people at risk. They also criticized Republicans for spending time on the issue as other legislative priorities remained unfinished.
“It just baffles me that we have things we can do to improve the state of Mississippi for all people, for all people, but we get so pumped on something that’s national politics,” said Rep. Jeffrey Hulum III, a Democrat. “It is not my job to criticize how people live their lives.”
Republicans said they were standing up for female family members on college campuses and pointed to several Republican women, wearing red, as they looked on from the Senate gallery.
One of those women was Anja Baker, a member of the Mississippi Federation of Republican Women from the Jackson suburb of Rankin County. Baker said she works with social service providers and was concerned women would be crowded out of spaces they rely on.
“They only have so many resources, and they need to have their locations and resources protected
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