OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma lawmaker who helped revive a bill to ban transgender athletes from participating in women's sports is coming under fire for saying transgender people "have a mental illness."

Rep. Justin Humphrey, a Republican from the southeast Oklahoma town of Lane, made the comment in an email exchange with a woman who was urging him to vote against the bill.

"I never mind helping to educate the uninformed," Humphrey wrote in the email obtained by The Associated Press. "I understand ... transgender people have a mental illness."

Humphrey stood by his comments Friday.

"I don'...