Daniel Trotta

(Reuters) – The Texas House of Representatives approved a bill banning transgender girls and women from playing in school sports. This follows three failed attempts. It is all the more encouraging that Republican Governor Greg Abbott will approve it.

Texas will join the seven other states this year that have passed similar legislation. This is part of a nationwide campaign where Republican legislators in 32 states introduced these bills. These bills aim to prevent transgender girls and women from participating in female sporting teams.

Conservatives insist they defend fair competition. But equal rights activists have criticised the campaign as discriminatory against transgender individuals, saying that there isn’t any evidence that transgender girls or women are dominating sport.

According to political analysts, the campaign was created to motivate hardcore Republican voters.

There is no indication that the problem exists. Robert Stein of Rice University, Houston said that this is “red meat for the base”.

Although the Texas Senate passed the companion bill, previous House versions of legislation fell on deaf ears in the House public education committee. This committee has a Democratic chair. The Republicans created a revised version of the bill, and they sent it through the select committee that they control. It passed the House on Thursday night.

It has been sent back to the Senate to be approved by procedural committees. The bill is now expected to reach Abbott’s desk.

Texas Republicans adopted a conservative agenda for this year. These include new laws making it difficult to vote.

This is, like a lot in Texas politics at the moment, selling primarily to ideologically-driven voters within the Republican Party. These are the people who show up for Republican primary elections,” James Henson (director of Texas Politics Project) at the University of Texas said.

Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi have all passed transgender-related legislation. South Dakota Governor Kristi Norm signed an executive order in support of a ban on transgender athletes. These laws may be challenged in court.

Idaho passed an identical law in 2011 that was blocked by the federal courts. A federal court in July decided that a West Virginia trans girl aged 11 years old must be allowed to run for cross-country and track at her school.