Columbus, Ohio – Gov. Mike DeWine was overruled by the Ohio Senate. A dual transgender ban on minors seeking medical attention and participating in girls’ and women’s sports in K–12 schools and colleges was passed over by the Senate on Wednesday.
DeWine opposed the restrictions and had vetoed House Bill 68, but the Senate overrode the governor’s veto with a vote of 24 to 8, generally along party lines. On January 10, the Ohio House decided to override the veto.
Republican Sen. Nathan Manning of North Ridgeville voted with Democrats to uphold DeWine’s veto.
HB 68 may take effect in about 90 days. The care will continue for minors who are already receiving hormone therapy that is both masculinizing and feminizing as well as puberty suppressants. However, once the bill is passed, Ohioans under the age of 18 won’t be able to begin.
Since 2020, Ohio will be the 24th state to adopt a sports ban, and the 23rd state will do the same with regard to medical treatment restrictions.
For young people who have gender dysphoria, the majority of mainstream health organizations recommend providing gender-affirming treatment. According to the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association, adolescents in Ohio undergo very few sex-change procedures.
After speaking with parents who claimed that hormone therapy and puberty blockers kept their kids alive, DeWine vetoed HB 68. State Sen. Kristina Roegner, a Republican from Hudson, asserted on the Ohio Senate floor that DeWine’s opinions don’t represent those of the majority of Ohioans. She claimed that the state may forbid children from sterilizing and mutilating themselves.
According to Roegner, sex is a biological issue involving X and Y chromosomes and is not fluid.
“There are males. There are females,” she claimed. “Kids exist. There are females, and they’re unique.”
She asserted that there is no such thing as gender-affirming care and that it is impossible to recognize something that does not exist.
The audience members who were seated in the gallery applauded as Roegner spoke. One was cut off by the hymn “Jesus loves the little children,” which was later changed to include Jesus’ love for LGBTQ children.
Republican State Sen. Jerry Cirino of Kirtland stated that it is true that Jesus loves gay children. He did, however, criticize the left for allowing abortion. He thinks the left is being hypocritical by standing up for some people but not others, particularly “unborn babies.”
According to Cirino, “They disregard the millions of unborn babies that they do not believe that Jesus loves and that the same Jesus determines the sex of each and every day.”
However, state senator Nickie Antonio, a Lakewood Democrat and leader of the minority caucus in the Senate, asserted that the public’s message was that government shouldn’t get involved in private medical decisions in November, when the majority of voters supported enshrining abortion rights.
The single openly gay lawmaker in the legislature, Antonio, said, “We are overriding the will of parents and their children in consultation with medical experts and mental health professionals to make the best decisions for our kids.”
Antonio claimed that despite being a part of the LGBTQ community, she has no idea what it would be like for trans people to live their lives.
She remarked, “Just because I don’t understand does not preclude me from denying their right to exist. How do I have the right to say, ‘No, I’m sorry, they really don’t exist,’ when someone stands in front of me and tells me ‘This is who I am’?”
According to estimates in Ohio, less than 1% of the state’s total population is transgender. However, Republicans have persisted in pushing policies that the trans community considers harmful, relying on polling that shows the majority of Americans and Ohioans support the GOP’s positions on the issues. The gay community counters that the issue is causing rapid change in behavior.
DeWine stated earlier this month that he intended to veto the bill. He also stated that his administration would draft rules to outlaw gender-affirming surgeries for minors in Ohio, to gather information on when these procedures are carried out there on both children and adults, and to stop “pop-up clinics” from providing medical care.
After that, he issued an executive order prohibiting minor trans therapies.
According to Maria Bruno, the public policy director of Equality Ohio, some Ohio communities are considering leaving the state as a result of HB 68 and some administrative regulations.
“The truth is that despite these announcements of businesses setting up camp in Ohio, they still need to find a workforce, and they’ll need to look for one that is fresh and intelligent. What do we hear about intelligent young individuals? They are concerned about LGBTQ rights, and many of them are coming out more frequently. We are fostering hostility among a particular segment of our population.”
DeWine stated that Ohio is moving forward despite the veto in remarks to reporters earlier on Wednesday.
“No problem is ever completely resolved,” he declared. “And, you know, discussions will continue on whatever topic we’re discussing that… Just because something works out one way one day doesn’t mean it will stay that way in the future.”
This report was written by Jeremy Pelzer.
For The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com, Laura Hancock writes about politicians and state government.
