Enjoy a past NBC4 statement on H.B. 68 in the movie player below.
A new study has revealed that the majority of voters oppose political candidates who frequently discuss limits on trans Americans as an Ohio legislation that will ban gender-affirming care for transgender adolescents takes effect next month.
According to the surveys conducted by GLAAD, the largest LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, about 53% of registered and potential 2024 voters said they oppose political candidates who frequently discuss restricting access to health care and encouraging participation in sports for transgender children. Additionally, according to the survey, 83% of 2024 voters, 83% of swing voters, and 73% of Trump voters think parents should make decisions regarding health care and mental health services for trans youth.
“Citizens are insisting that officials focus instead on the real issues facing our state, including inflation, pregnancy rights, and climate change,” said GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “Prospects, events, managers, and writers are on recognize about the power of the LGBTQ ballot and the problems that should be demanding interest.”
House Bill 68 will go into effect in Ohio on April 23 and prohibit children’s hospitals from offering treatments like gender reassignment surgery and estrogen therapy to transgender adolescents, according to GLAAD’s review. The Statehouse voted to bypass Governor Mike DeWine’s veto of the policy, which furthermore bans trans athletes’ involvement in children’s activities.
DeWine rejected the costs after visiting some children’s hospitals, arguing “parents may make these decisions and not the state.” But Rep. Gary Click (R-Vickery), the bill’s major sponsor, called gender-affirming care an “experiment” and has argued “children are incapable of providing the educated consent necessary to make those really difficult and life-transforming decisions.”
While the ACLU of Ohio announced Tuesday it filed a lawsuit to block the law, Click said the complaint is “no unexpected” and “par for the program,” and argued H.B. 68 was written “to be bulletproof when it came to lawsuits.”
As a result of the state’s budget shortfall, the Ohio school board may increase teacher license costs.
H.B. 68 is one of four anti-LGBTQ+ bills progressing in Ohio, among more than 725 proposed laws moving through statehouses across the nation. These bills are now galvanizing the LGBTQ+ community to participate in the 2024 election, GLAAD’s survey said. According to the poll, 94% of LGBTQ+ registered voters are motivated as the November presidential and congressional campaigns draw nearer.
Additionally, according to GLAAD, 49% of LGBTQ+ voters reported experiencing real-world bullying or harassment as a result of the current state of political discourse. In addition, 72% experience negative impacts on their mental health and emotional well-being caused by political discourse.
“GLAAD’s research shows that LGBTQ Americans are ready to exert their significant power to shape electoral politics, choose responsible leadership, and use their voices to advocate for equality,” Ellis said. According to our new survey, the majority of voters reject offensive language directed at LGBTQ candidates and candidates.
House Bill 245, a “drag queen ban” bill that would prohibit “adult cabaret performances,” defined as a show “harmful to juveniles” and featuring “entertainers who exhibit a gender identity that is different from the performers’ or entertainers’ gender assigned at birth,” are other proposed anti-LGBT+ bills at the Ohio Statehouse.
Updated the schedule for Ohio’s recreational marijuana sales.
House Bill 183 would forbid trans students from using bathrooms that don’t formally reflect the gender they were born to be. According to the bill, institutions are required to set up separate facilities based on a student’s “biological sex,” which is defined as “the sex listed on a person’s official birth record.”
House Bill 8 — the “Parents’ Bill of Rights” — would require teachers to notify parents before teaching “sexuality content” and of any change in a student’s mental, emotional, or physical health. Additionally, the legislation would give parents the opportunity to request expulsion from their children’s classrooms, and parents whose disputes aren’t resolved within 30 days will receive a hearing with the district’s board of education.
