After holding a marathon 21-hour hearing, a Texas senate committee on Wednesday approved a bill that seeks to prohibit transgender people from using the bathroom of their choice in many buildings.

According to the Austin American-Statesman, eight out of the nine senators on the State Affairs Committee voted at 4:50 AM to advance Senate Bill 6, sending the measure to the full Senate.

Texas is among the more than a dozen states considering following in the footsteps of North Carolina, the first – and so far only – state to approve such a law.

In a press release, Freedom for All Americans, a group opposed to the measure, said that nearly 300 people spoke at Tuesday's hearing.

“There is unprecedented opposition to SB 6 from all corners of Texas and from stakeholders across the nation,” said Freedom for All Americans Executive Director Matt McTighe. “Hundreds of Texans came to Austin and spoke out against a bill that they know promotes discrimination and threatens their state’s economy. It’s simply irresponsible that lawmakers could listen to such overwhelming opposition in a hearing that lasted for nearly 21 hours, with the business community, educators, parents of transgender kids and so many others speaking out against the bill – and still vote to advance such a dangerous measure.”

Among the speakers at Tuesday's hearing was a transgender child whose mother tearfully testified: “From the moment she could communicate, she let us know she was a girl. Dadgummit, transgender people are real.”

On Monday, Senator Eddie Lucio, a member of the State Affairs Committee, became the first Senate Democrat to announce his support for the bill, which he described as “a just and compassionate approach.”