West Virginia state Senate approves anti-trans sports bill

West Virginia state senators on Thursday approved a measure prohibiting transgender girls and women in the state from competing on secondary and college sports teams, moving the state one step closer to joining four others that have enacted similar bans this year.

The state’s Republican-led Senate approved HB 3293 by a vote of 18-15 Thursday afternoon after debating the measure for more than an hour. The state’s GOP-controlled House of Delegates approved a different version of the bill last month by a vote of 78-20.

The legislation now heads back to the House, where lawmakers will consider the new version of the bill. Should they pass it, the measure would then head to Republican Gov. Jim Justice for consideration. CNN has reached out to the governor for comment on the bill.

The Senate’s action is a part of a growing trend among Republican-controlled legislatures around the country that have been moving in recent weeks to impose restrictions on the lives of transgender Americans. So far this year, South Dakota, Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee have enacted similar sports bans, with Arkansas also approving a measure earlier this week that prohibits physicians in the state from providing gender-affirming treatments to trans youth. Read more