Nebraska lawmakers gave final approval late Wednesday to legislation barring transgender student-athletes from competing on sports teams that match their gender identity, one of the last Republican-led states to do so.

State senators in Nebraska’s unicameral Legislature voted 33-16 to pass the measure, sending the bill to Republican Gov. Jim Pillen, who wrote on social media that he looks forward to signing it.

State Republicans pushed back on arguments from Democrats in the officially nonpartisan Legislature on Wednesday that the measure, Legislative Bill 89, discriminates against transgender students, arguing such a law is necessary to protect female students and maintain fairness in girls’ and women’s sports.

“L.B. 89 is not about shutting doors,” said state Sen. Loren Lippincott, one of the bill’s co-sponsors. “It’s about opening the right ones.”

Nebraska Sen. John Fredrickson, one of two openly LGBTQ people serving in the state Legislature, said Wednesday, “I believe we want to protect women. I think we also know this is not the way to do it.”

“This Legislature has made it clear that instead of addressing the real, material concerns of young people in Nebraska, we’re going to use our power to punch down,” said state Sen. Megan Hunt, an........

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