POLITICS
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has signed the following bill into law
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Transgender students from kindergarten through college at Ohio public and private schools will be banned from using multiperson bathrooms that fit their gender identities under a measure that Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said Wednesday that he has signed.
The Republican-backed measure—labeled the “Protect All Students Act”—requires public and private schools, colleges, and universities to designate separate bathrooms, locker rooms, and overnight accommodations “for the exclusive use” of males and females, based on one’s gender assigned at birth. It contains no enforcement mechanism.
“It revolves around safety, security, and, I think, common sense. It protects our children and grandchildren in private spaces where they are most vulnerable,” said Republican Ohio state Sen. Jerry Cirino, the bill’s sponsor.
School employees, emergency situations, and people assisting young children or someone with a disability are exempt from the restrictions, and schools can still offer single-use or family bathrooms.
Aaron Baer, president of the Center for Christian Virtue, which backed the bill, said in a statement, “Common sense is on a winning streak in America today. No student should be forced to go into the bathroom or locker room with a student of the opposite sex, and Ohio’s kids are better protected now because of Governor DeWine’s decision to sign this bill.”
Twenty-six states have now adopted laws restarting or banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors. The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on Dec. 4 on whether Tennessee’s ban on such treatments can continue to be enforced; any ruling is likely to impact policies in other states, too.
At least 11 states have adopted laws, like Ohio’s, barring transgender girls and women from girls and women’s bathrooms at public schools—and in some cases, in other government facilities.
And at least 24 states have laws dictating which sports competitions transgender girls and women can join.
In Ohio, a law that both bars gender-affirming care for minors and blocks transgender girls and women from participating in girls’ and women’s sports competitions took effect in August. It took a rocky path, though. The measure became law only after the legislature overrode DeWine’s veto. After that, a judge put enforcement on hold for about four months before allowing it.
