OAN Staff James Myers
11:30am – Thursday, November 14, 2024
The Ohio Senate on Wednesday approved a bill that would ban transgender students from using the bathroom of the opposite sex that “matches their gender identity,” sending the bill to Republican Gov. Mike DeWine.
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Senate Bill 104 applies to K-12 public schools and institutions of higher education.
The bill would allow schools to designate separate restrooms, locker rooms, and accommodations for boys and girls assigned a specific gender at birth, both in school buildings and in facilities used for school-sponsored events. Mandatory.
The bill passed on a party-line vote of 24-7.
However, the new law does not apply to school staff, emergency situations, people supporting young children or people with disabilities, and schools will continue to provide single- and family-use toilet facilities.
The bill, entitled the Protect Every Student Act, would amend Ohio's existing college credit program for high school students. We are currently awaiting approval from DeWine.
DeWine intends to sign the deal, but will first conduct a legal review. Associated Press Reported. DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney said: “We have no further comment.” CNN on Thursday. “The bill has been passed, but it has not yet been delivered to the office for signature.”
In 2023, DeWine vetoed a bill that would have banned gender reassignment surgery for minors, but that veto was overridden by Congress.
The ACLU of Ohio urged the governor not to sign the bill, which it accused of violating the privacy rights of LGBTQ+ Ohioans and making them “less safe.”
“SB 104, if allowed to take effect, will create a dangerous environment for transgender and gender nonconforming people of all ages,” Jocelyn Rosnick, the group's policy director, said in a statement. “This bill ignores the critical reality that transgender people experience higher rates of sexual assault and sexual assault than non-transgender people, especially while using public restrooms.”
meanwhile, Christian Virtue Center He praised lawmakers for passing the bill and asked DeWine to sign it.
“Today is a huge victory for Ohio's children and families,” CCV Policy Director David Mahan said in a statement. “SB104 is common sense legislation that ensures that only women, and not men who claim to be women, enter young women's private spaces.”
To date, 11 states have passed laws banning children who identify as transgender from using public school restrooms according to their “preferred gender identity,” and some states It also extends these restrictions to government facilities.
This law is in effect in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Utah. However, a judge in Idaho has ordered the execution to be suspended.
Ohio Senate Democratic Leader Nikki Antonio said she couldn't believe Republican leaders voted in favor of the bill on their first day back from the November election.
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