A bill prohibiting transgender children from using restrooms that correspond with their gender identification was signed by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine on Wednesday. By a party-line vote of 24–7, the Republican-majority state Senate advanced SB 104, popularly referred to as the Protect All Students Act.
According to the measure, no school may allow a member of the female biological sex to use a locker room, changing room, shower room, or student restroom that has been set aside by the school for the sole use of the male biological sex, and vice versa.
Without taking into account a person’s psychological, subjective, or chosen perception of gender, the bill defines biological sex as the biological indication of male and female, including sex chromosomes, naturally occurring sex hormones, gonads, and nonambiguous internal and external genitalia present at birth. According to the measure, if a birth certificate was issued at or close to the time of the person’s birth, it may be used as evidence of biological sex.
Public K–12 schools in Ohio, as well as colleges and universities, are subject to SB 104. Other states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Utah, have also enacted legislation aimed at limiting the restrooms that transgender persons are permitted to use.
Additionally, the measure prohibits all-gender restrooms and locker rooms in Ohio schools, with the exception of family facilities and single-occupancy facilities. Children under the age of ten who are receiving assistance from family members, school personnel whose jobs require them to use all restrooms, and individuals with disabilities who are receiving assistance are exempt from the measure.
The Associated Press reports that before signing the law, Republican DeWine carried out a legal study.
After SB 104 cleared the state Senate, the American Civil Liberties Union issued a statement denouncing it as anti-trans and urging DeWine not to sign it.
SB 104 will put trans and gender non-conforming people of all ages in dangerous situations if it is approved. According to a statement from the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio’s policy director, Jocelyn Rosnick, this law disregards the tangible fact that transgender persons experience higher rates of sexual violence and assaults than non-transgender people, especially when using public facilities.
In a letter released on November 15, Senate Democratic leader Nickie J. Antonio urged DeWine to veto the bill.
The bill’s supporters claim that it is a safety measure. However, nobody is safer as a result of this bill. Antonio argued that rather than improving the safety of all pupils, it will make transgender persons less safe. There is a distinction between caring about safety and being sympathetic and impassioned. This bill might make the discrimination and bullying trans children already experience in schools worse.
DeWine was urged to approve the bill by the Center for Christian Virtue, which bills itself as the largest Christian public policy organization in Ohio and praises it for protecting privacy.
For Ohio’s families and children, today is a major win. After the Senate passed the bill, David Mahan, the organization’s policy director, said in a statement that Amended SB104 is common-sense legislation that will ensure that only women, not men posing as women, visit young ladies’ private settings.
Mahan did not answer calls for comment and did not say whether a man posing as a woman has ever entered a women’s restroom in Ohio.
According to a 2018 study published in the journal Sexuality Research and Social Policy, there is no proof that allowing transgender persons to use public spaces, such as restrooms, that correspond with their gender identification leads to an increase in attacks or privacy violations. When transgender kids are denied access to restrooms that correspond with their gender identities, they are more vulnerable to sexual assault, according to a 2019 study published in the journal Pediatrics.
The toilet legislation was connected by Ohio House Republicans to measures pertaining to report card data for high school students enrolled in Ohio’s college credit program.
After DeWine signed the bill, Melanie Willingham-Jaggers, executive director of GLSEN, an organization that supports LGBTQ children, issued a statement denouncing the legislation.
The existence of transgender students is causing extreme politicians to fear, according to Willingham-Jaggers. “Bathroom bans do not work: they isolate transgender youth, exacerbate harassment and unsafe conditions, and encourage schools to engage in harmful and stigmatizing gender-policing at the bathroom door.”
Note: Every piece of content is rigorously reviewed by our team of experienced writers and editors to ensure its accuracy. Our writers use credible sources and adhere to strict fact-checking protocols to verify all claims and data before publication. If an error is identified, we promptly correct it and strive for transparency in all updates, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!