A transgender activist in Ohio told Truthout, “It’s despicable.”
To override Governor Mike DeWine’s (R) veto, the Ohio House voted 65 to 28. HB 68, vetoed by DeWine last month, would forbid transgender youth from receiving gender-affirming care and from participating in high school and college female sports teams. Last month, the Ohio House returned early from its winter break in order to hasten the veto override process.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the ACLU of Ohio stated in a statement that they were “extremely disappointed” that the Ohio House “returned early for an emergency session to override the Governor’s veto on HB 68” and “continued their war against transgender children and their families.” “This state-sponsored retaliation against some of Ohio’s most vulnerable youth is beyond cruel.”
After DeWine vetoed the bill in December, former president Donald Trump, Florida Governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, and Vivek Ramaswamy put pressure on Ohio lawmakers to override the veto.
Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson stated in a statement that “MAGA radicals in the legislature have given in to Trump’s bullying and decided that politicians, not parents, should determine what health care Ohio youth have access to.” The override is a blatant attempt to win Trump’s support and enrage their supporters rather than doing what is best for Ohio individuals. However, the fight is far from over.
Transgender children and their parents were “begging them to change their minds” as state representatives entered the room to cast their votes on the filibuster override, according to Cam Ogden, an advocate for gender equality rights.
Ogden told Truthout, “Many of the Republicans looked at these people with contempt, but a large part even looked disgusted with themselves.” “This ’emergency session’ was called because the GOP now prioritizes ejecting trans children from the state of Ohio. It’s abhorrent.”
The Ohio Senate will decide whether to override the filibuster on January 24. Legislators must win a 60 percent majority vote in both houses in order to override the governor’s veto.
“My heart breaks for the state’s transgender children who are being made to be someone they are not.” Riley Roliff, an Ohio writer and transgender advocate, told Truthout, “Trans children deserve the world, and this is ripping it apart from them.” “I hope they are aware that there are those who care about them and stand up for them.”
In an effort to prevent a veto override, DeWine last Friday issued several executive orders that opponents claim amount to de facto bans on gender-affirming care for transgender youth and adults. The DeWine administration is now seeking public comments on the rules, but they will no longer be accepted after January 19. Ohio would become one of the least welcoming states for trans people in the nation if DeWine’s anti-trans rules were implemented.
The ACLU of Ohio stated in a statement that the restrictions may make it illegal for the majority of primary care providers to treat transgender people of any age with hormones, would impose an arbitrary list of burdensome requirements, and would threaten to end care nationwide.
Similar anti-trans regulations were put in place in Missouri and Florida in 2023, which resulted in the exclusion of transgender people from their prescribed medications. These states’ trans residents were compelled to travel to different states for medical treatment or undergo medical detransition. A Missouri judge blocked the state’s anti-trans rule in May because he believed it to be unjust.
“These policies could endanger the lives and wellbeing of transgender children and adults across the state and unnecessarily place politicians and government between them and their doctors,” according to an Ohio-based ACLU statement. “This is a dangerous overreach and illegitimate attempt to exert control over Ohioans’ bodies, lives, and futures.”
