Greg Abbott on Monday signed into law the so-called Save Women’s Sports Act, banning transgender athletes from competing at the collegiate level in Texas — a move activists say represents the latest effort to winnow rights away from LGBTQ people and ostracize them from day-to-day life.

He was joined Monday by several conservative Texas lawmakers and two female former college swimmers who say they were made to feel uncomfortable or put at a competitive disadvantage because of a transgender athlete’s presence in their sport.

The law builds on legislation previously signed by Abbott in 2021 that limits the ability of trans K-12 athletes in Texas public schools to play sports on teams corresponding to their gender identity.

Gaines, who attended the University of Kentucky, has built a media career stemming from her appearance at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in March 2022.

Protesters who identified as transgender or gender-nonconforming said they believed the law was designed to incubate hate against them — not protect female athletes.

“I don’t understand why our governor is focusing on violently suppressing us,” said River Gallagher, a TWU student who is transmasculine and uses they/them pronouns.

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