(Headline USA) RINO Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed a measure Friday that would have banned LGBT-driven genital mutilation for minors and prevented transgenders from commandeering girls and women’s sports, in a break from members of his party who championed the legislation.
GOP lawmakers hold enough seats to override DeWine’s veto, but if or when they would do so was not immediately clear. Both within and between chambers, Republican legislators have not been in lockstep this year.
In a news conference Friday, DeWine said he had listened to people on both sides of the legislation who “truly believe their position best protects children.”
He claimed that the bill would affect a small number of Ohio children.
However, “for those children who face gender dysphoria and for their families, the consequences of this bill could not be more profound,” he said in announcing his decision to veto the legislation.
“Ultimately, I believe this is about protecting human life,” he continued.
In doing so, DeWine ignored the bigger picture in a movement that is designed to subvert scientific facts and replace them with identity politics.
Critics contend that children swept up in a craze of pro-trans propaganda—on social-media sites like TikTok, in indoctrinatory school curricula, and even in the virtue-signaling fervor of some leftist parents to turn their children into props and accessories—may potentially be forced to make life-altering decisions that could affect their well being before their mental reasoning capacity has fully matured.
Meanwhile, allowing biological males, regardless of their sexual identities and fetishes, to participate against females creates considerably more harm for competitors who then find themselves at a physical disadvantage. It has been exploited in several high-profile cases by mediocre male athletes who went on to dominate the competition in the women’s division.
DeWine said that protecting the interests of these victims came secondary to advancing the social-engineering agenda and financial interests of the medical professionals who were aggressively pushing such procedures.
“Now, while there are rare times in the law in other circumstances where the state overrules the medical decisions made by the parents, I can think of no examples where this is done where it is not only against the decision of the parent, but also against the medical judgement of the treating physician and against the judgement of the treating team of medical experts,” he claimed. “Therefore, I cannot sign this bill as it currently written.”
Nonetheless, DeWine insisted there were administrative actions that could address the main concerns of the bill and announced a three-prong approach.
- Rather than go through the legislature, he sought to expand his executive authority by directing agencies to prohibit gender-reassignment surgery on those under 18. He said he believes it’s a “fallacy out there that this goes right to surgery.”
- He agreed with the Legislature that there was no comprehensive data on those who transition genders and planned to direct relevant agencies to report findings to the Legislature and public about minors and adults undergoing it.
- Lastly, DeWine said his administration would draft rules and restrictions to prevent “pop up clinics or fly by night operations” so families receive “adequate counseling” prior to undergoing any irreversible treatment.
In addition to preventing genital alteration surgeries, the measure, which passed the Legislature earlier this month in a party-line vote, would have prohibited Ohio minors from taking puberty blockers and undergoing other hormone therapies, the effects of which have not been fully studied.
The bill would have allowed underage Ohio residents to continue any treatments they are currently receiving.
DeWine’s veto departs from a nationwide trend toward passing such laws. Since 2021, more than 20 states have enacted laws restricting or banning such treatments. Most of those states face lawsuits, but courts have issued mixed rulings.
The bill also would have required public K-12 schools and universities to designate separate teams for male and female sexes, and explicitly banned transgender participation in sports specially designated for females.
At least 20 states have passed some version of a ban on transgender athletes playing on K-12 and collegiate sports teams statewide. However, those bans may be upended by a regulation proposed by President Joe Biden’s administration to revise the federal gender-equity laws and altogether redefine the government’s definition of “gender.” It is set to be finalized early next year.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
