Arkansas lawmakers vote to expand transgender sports ban

Arkansas’s House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to expand the ban on transgender people playing in sports segregated by gender, The Associated Press reported.

The law passed Wednesday authorizes the state’s attorney general to sue schools that violate the ban. Arkansas lawmakers voted 74-17 on the expanded measure and Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) is expected to sign the bill.

The proposed law comes as states are passing measures restricting the rights of transgender individuals, including Arkansas banning gender-confirming surgery for transgender youth. 

Hutchinson last month signed into law the initial ban on transgender girls and woman from participating in sports separated by gender from kindergarten to 12th grade and at the collegiate level.