COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Senate on Wednesday approved a ban on transgender students using restrooms that match their gender identity, sending the measure to Republican Gov. Mike DeWine.
The Republican-backed bill applies to public K-12 schools and colleges. It requires schools to provide separate restrooms, locker rooms, and overnight accommodations “for the exclusive use” of men and women, both in school buildings and in facilities used for a school-sponsored event, based on the at or shortly before the gender assigned at birth.
The legislation would not apply to school employees, emergency workers or people helping youthful children or people with disabilities, and schools could continue to provide single-use and family restrooms.
State Sen. Jerry Cirino, a Republican from Kirtland, said the bill is “about safety and security.”
The ACLU of Ohio called on the governor not to sign the measure, condemning a violation of the right to privacy of LGBTQ+ Ohioans that would compromise their safety.
“If SB 104 is allowed to become law, it will create unsafe environments for transgender and gender non-conforming people of all ages,” Jocelyn Rosnick, the group’s policy director, said in a statement. “This bill ignores the material reality that transgender people experience sexual violence and assault at higher rates, particularly when using public restrooms, than people who are not transgender.”
The Center for Christian Virtue praised lawmakers for passing the bill and urged DeWine to sign it. The governor has said he is willing to sign the bill but will first conduct a legal review.
“Today is a huge victory for children and families in Ohio,” CCV policy director David Mahan said in a statement. “The amended SB104 is common-sense legislation that guarantees that the only people entering young ladies’ private spaces are women, not men who claim to be female.”
At least 11 states have passed laws banning transgender girls and women from girls’ and women’s restrooms in public schools and, in some cases, other state facilities.
The laws apply in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah. In Idaho, there is a court order suspending enforcement.
Republicans in the Ohio House of Representatives tied the measure to a college credit program proposal for high school students in Ohio before passing it in June, much to the chagrin of one of the state’s Democratic senators, who was a co-sponsor had committed.
Sen. Catherine Ingram of Cincinnati said she would remove her name from the bill.
Senate Democratic Leader Nickie Antonio said she couldn’t believe Republican leaders prioritized the legislation on the first day after the November election.
“There should be no exception to freedom and justice for all, but here we are telling our children that there are people who don’t have it so well,” she said. “This bill is not about bathrooms. “It’s about demonizing difference, and our children are watching and listening to the fearmongering.”
