The Mississippi House of Representatives has passed legislation suspending the rules to bring back up the topic of restricting transgender people’s use of bathrooms in public buildings.
Rep. Fred Shanks, R-Brandon, confirmed the news via X while tagging SuperTalk Mississippi talk show hosts Paul Gallo and Gerard Gibert. House Concurrent Resolution 65, which still needs to be approved by the Senate, would revive the Securing Areas for Females Effectively and Responsibly (SAFER) Act after it originally died at Monday’s deadline.
I have had a lot of questions on the “Safer Act” which is a Women’s Bill of Rights bill. I just suspended the House rules to bring it back up . @paulgalloshow @SaveJxn @grgibert
— Representative Fred Shanks (@FredShanks) May 1, 2024
The SAFER Act, which passed both chambers earlier in the session but did not make it out of conference, would restrict transgender people’s use of bathrooms and locker rooms in public buildings if lawmakers decided to send it to the desk of Tate Reeves and the Republican governor signed off on it. For example, if the bill were to be enacted into law, a transgender woman who attends a public university would be required to use the men’s rooms on campus.
Democrat Rep. Zakiya Summers, a Black legislator from Jackson who previously compared the bill to Jim Crow-era laws, quickly fired back at Shanks.
Why Lord! https://t.co/tWOQzDOyr6
— Rep. Zakiya Summers (@zakiyasummers) May 1, 2024
The SAFER Act is the latest attempt by Republicans to restrict transgender access after previously implementing laws banning biological men from competing in women’s sports and minors from receiving gender-affirming care.
