By: Megan Henry Ohio Capital Journal

Transgender Ohioans, allies and educators are calling on Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to veto a transgender bathroom ban bill.

The Ohio Senate voted along party lines to concur Senate Bill 104 Wednesday during their first session back from break. The Ohio House added House Bill 183 (the bathroom bill) to Senate Bill 104 and passed S.B. 104 in June during the last House session before going on break.

DeWine will have 10 days to sign the bill into law or veto it once he receives it, but he has previously indicated he would sign the bill.

If the bill is signed into law, it would require Ohio K-12 schools and colleges to mandate people use the bathroom or locker room that aligns with their gender assigned at birth. It would also prevent students from sharing overnight accommodations with people of the opposite sex from their sex assigned at birth for K-12 schools.

“Trans students are just like students everywhere,” Equality Ohio Executive Director Dwayne Steward said in a statement. “They just want to feel safe and secure in their schools. S.B. 104 is a dangerous bill that puts vulnerable trans youth at risk for abuse and harassment.”

Anne Anderson, the mom of a transgender high school student, said her family plans on moving out of Ohio because of the anti-transgender legislation.

“I’m not going to let my daughter suffer through their bigotry,” she said. “My daughter is the shell of a person she once was because of all of this.”

Anderson said her daughter did not want to go to school the morning after the Senate passed S.B. 104.

“She will not be going in the boys bathroom,” Anderson said. “It’s just not happening.”

The American Medical Association officially opposes policies preventing transgender individuals from accessing basic human services and public facilities consistent with gender identity.

 

“This bill ignores the material reality that transgender people endure higher rates of sexual violence and assaults, particularly while using public restrooms, than people who are not transgender,” Jocelyn Rosnick, policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, said in a statement. “All Ohioans deserve to access the facilities they need, in alignment with their gender identity, without fear of harassment or bullying.”

Slightly more than half of transgender and nonbinary youth in Ohio considered suicide in 2022, according to the Trevor Project.

Several organizations are encouraging people to contact DeWine and ask him to veto S.B. 104.

“Governor DeWine can veto this anti-trans bathroom bill,” Christina Collins, executive director of Honesty for Ohio Education, said in a statement. “It is necessary now more than ever to show our trans community that this is not the will of the people but rather the disposition of extremists in our state legislature that do not represent our communities.”

Mallory Golski with Kaleidoscope Youth Center said she is hearing people wonder if they will need to start carrying around their birth certificates.

“It leaves it up to individual school districts to create their own policy, so there’s a lot of uncertainty of what if one school district does it one way and one does it another,” she said. “Will I be penalized for using the bathroom that is allegedly the wrong bathroom?”

Another question she is hearing is who would enforce the policy?

“Is it that local community’s law enforcement?” Golski asked. “Is it the principal?”

People have told her DeWine’s voicemail has been full a couple of times since S.B. 104 passed.

“It’s clear that Ohioans are overwhelmingly contacting the governor and urging him to veto this legislation,” Golski said.

Transgender people will always be part of Ohio, said TransOhio Executive Director Dara Adkison.

“Ohio is a state that held over a hundred prides this year, with thousands and thousands in attendance, that is Ohio,” Adkison said in a statement. “To trans Ohioans and our allies remember that this is our state too, do not seed its story to a bigoted minority.”

Ohio Federation of Teachers President Melissa Cropper said there are real safety issues that need to be addressed.

“There is no epidemic of student assaults in bathrooms and locker rooms,” Cropper said in a statement. “There is however an epidemic of gun violence in our schools and communities; firearms are the leading cause of death for American children and teens.”

State Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, originally introduced S.B. 104 to revise the College Credit Plus Program. Sen. Andrew Brenner, R-Delaware, is also a sponsor of the bill. State Reps. Beth Lear, R-Galena, and Adam Bird, R-New Richmond, introduced the bathroom bill last year.

Follow OCJ Reporter Megan Henry on X.