Ohio GOP Gov. Mike DeWine on Friday vetoed a bill that would have blocked sex-change services for minors and prevented transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports after it passed the state legislature by a wide margin.
“The consequences of this bill could not be more profound,” DeWine, 76, said in a news conference announcing the decision. “I cannot sign this bill as it is being written.”
“If I sign House Bill 68, if House Bill 68 becomes law, Ohio will be saying that the state, that the government, knows better what’s medically best for a child than the two people who love it the most. the child: the parents,” he added.
The governor went on to say that his administration will propose regulations in the coming weeks to regulate gender clinics and increase protections for children, saying he is particularly opposed to gender reassignment surgery for minors.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Friday vetoed a bill to block gender transition services for minors and ban transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports. AP Many Ohio Republicans such as US Sen. JD Vance have expressed “hope” that DeWine will sign the bill. Getty Images
“Although I have come to different conclusions on whether to sign this bill, I share some of these concerns and agree that action is necessary on some of the issues they have raised,” DeWine said.
He then invited state lawmakers — the majority of whom in both chambers of the legislature are Republicans — to partner with him in the effort.
DeWine’s announcement follows two weeks of deliberations after the state Senate voted 24-8 on Dec. 13 to send the legislation to his desk. The Ohio House of Representatives passed the Saving Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act 64-28 on June 21.
Public pressure culminated in March 2022, when transgender athlete Lia Thomas won the NCAA Division I 500-yard freestyle title. AP
Many Ohio Republicans, including US Senator JD Vance, have expressed “hope” that DeWine will sign the bill.
“I believe Governor Dewine is a good person. I hope he does the right thing and signs this important legislation,” Vance posted on X Thursday.
Fifteen years ago, there were no child gender clinics in the US, Reuters reported last year. Now there are more than 100, making politicians’ handling of the issue a critical concern for voters across the country.
More than 20 states have passed laws to either restrict or completely ban gender reassignment services for minors as of 2021, including in Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis has banned the practice. AP
Public pressure to address that began to build in March 2022, when Lia Thomas — who transitioned to a woman after competing for three years as a man on the University of Pennsylvania swim team — won the NCAA Division I 500-yard freestyle title.
More than 20 states have passed laws to either restrict or completely ban gender reassignment services for minors starting in 2021, including in Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis also signed a measure to bar transgender athletes from women’s sports.
The Sunshine State governor has touted the legislation during the 2024 Republican presidential primary as evidence of his record enacting conservative priorities.
The trans issue has even divided the GOP primary, with other candidates — like former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — echoing DeWine’s concern that parents should speak out. AP
Critics of transgender athletes participating in women’s sports point to advantages that biological males have over female competitors, including greater strength, bone mass and muscle mass.
Supporters, such as LGBT and civil rights advocacy groups, have countered that the law discriminates against transgender individuals.
The trans issue has even divided the GOP primary, with other candidates — such as former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — echoing DeWine’s concern that parents, not government officials, should have the final say.
“Republicans believe in less government, not more, and less involvement with government, not more government involvement in people’s lives,” Christie said during the Dec. 6 Republican presidential primary debate. “I trust parents.”
“Once you start taking those rights away from parents,” he added, “you don’t know — that slippery slope — what rights are going to be taken away next.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
