Ohio’s State House passed a bill on Wednesday that will require transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their biological sex.
If passed, the law will apply to kindergarten through college students.
The measure was added as an amendment to a Senate bill focused on the state’s college credit program.
“Superintendents and school boards need clarity on this issue,” State Rep. Adam Bird said during the debate, according to a report from The Hill. “We should not be sitting on the sideline waiting for the federal executive branch to make decisions. We should not be sitting on the sideline waiting for the judicial branch to make decisions when it comes to this issue.”
The state legislature is now on summer recess, and the Senate must approve the changes, so it is unclear if and when the bill will be passed.
State Rep. Beth Liston, a Democrat, opposed the bill and wrote that it is unnecessary because she personally feels comfortable with biological men using the same locker rooms and restrooms as she does. “I didn’t anticipate we would be using the power of the state to bully transgender children and individuals today,” Rep. Beth Liston, D-Dublin. “As far as protecting girls and women, I will tell you as a woman, I do not want nor need your protection.” https://t.co/9e9zVjgbba
— Rep. Beth Liston (@Liston4Ohio) June 27, 2024
“I didn’t anticipate we would be using the power of the state to bully transgender children and individuals today,” Liston wrote in a post on X. “As far as protecting girls and women, I will tell you as a woman, I do not want nor need your protection.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio vowed to "keep fighting" against the bill in a post on X. Legislators have no business telling trans or gender-nonconforming young people what restrooms or locker rooms to use.
This is another state-sponsored attack against LGBTQ communities during #PrideMonth.
This bill is not yet law -- we will keep fighting.https://t.co/zQXNSalJhA
— ACLU of Ohio (@acluohio) June 27, 2024
"Legislators have no business telling trans or gender-nonconforming young people what restrooms or locker rooms to use,' the organization wrote. "This is another state-sponsored attack against LGBTQ communities during #PrideMonth. This bill is not yet law -- we will keep fighting."
