Mississippi lawmakers grabbed national headlines this year by banning transgender athletes from competing on girls’ or women’s sports teams. They walked away from some other divisive issues during their three-month session.
Republican Sen. Angela Hill of Picayune argued in favor of the transgender sports bill, and she stood behind Republican Gov. Tate Reeves as he signed it into law. Hill filed a separate bill that would have prohibited hormone treatments or surgery from being performed on transgender minors.
Senate Bill 2171, the “Transgender 21 Act,” died because it was not brought up for votes in the Senate Public Health Committee and the Senate Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Committee. Arkansas legislators passed a similar bill this year, pushing it into law over the veto of Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson.