Tallahassee, Florida - Florida state Representative Webster Barnaby apologized after referring to transgender people as "mutants" and "demons" in a House committee hearing.

The Republican politician's comments came during Monday's House Commerce Committee hearing on Florida's HB 1521, the so-called "Safety in Private Spaces Act," which would make it a misdemeanor for transgender people to use public restrooms that correspond with their gender identity.

"We have people that live among us today on planet earth that are happy to display themselves as if they were mutants from another planet," Barnaby said in an astonishing rant, following testimony from trans Floridians. "This is the planet earth, where God created men male and women female."

"The lord rebuke you, Satan, and all of your demons and all of your imps who come parade before us," he added. "That’s right, I called you demons and imps, who come and parade before us and pretend that you are part of this world."

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The self-declared "proud, Christian, conservative Republican" later issued an apology of sorts, saying, "I would like to apologize to the trans community for referring to you as demons."

He then tweeted, "I am proud to stand by my entire statement, including my apologies." The account now appears to have been deactivated.

Despite stirring testimonies from impacted communities, the anti-trans bathroom bill advanced out of committee.

"These kinds of bills make it impossible for transgender people to go about their daily lives like other people – and it opens the door to abuse, mistreatment, and more," the ACLU of Florida's political director, Kirk Bailey, said in a statement after the bill advanced. "Let’s be clear: This is state-sanctioned discrimination."

Florida is now on the path to becoming the latest state to criminalize transgender people's bathroom use, alongside states like Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.

Florida also has an established track record of going after LGBTQ+ rights. Republicans have pushed through a transgender athlete ban and moved to bar gender-affirming care for youth, as well as severely restricted instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools.