The Ohio Senate on Wednesday approved a ban on transgender students using the toilet who matched their gender identity and sent the measure to Republican Gov. Mike DeWine.
The Republican-backed bill applies to K-12 public schools and higher education institutions. It requires schools to designate separate bathrooms, locker rooms and overnight accommodations “for the exclusive use” of men and women, based on sex assigned at or near birth, in school buildings and in facilities used for a school-sponsored event.
The legislation would not apply to school employees, emergency situations, or people helping young children or people with disabilities, and schools would still be able to provide single-use and family bathrooms.
State Sen. Jerry Cirino, a Republican from Kirtland, said the bill “is about safety and security.”
The ACLU of Ohio urged the governor not to sign the measure, which it condemned as a violation of the privacy rights of LGBTQ+ Ohioans that would make them less safe.
“We are carefully considering the next steps,” the ACLU said on social media.
“If allowed to take effect, SB 104 will create unsafe environments for trans 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 higher rates of sexual violence and assault, particularly when using public restrooms, than people who are not transgender.”
Transgender and gender non-binary adolescents who were subject to restroom or locker room restrictions had a higher prevalence of sexual assault, according to a 2019 study published in the journal Pediatrics. According to the study, about 36 percent of teens surveyed reported sexual assault.
The Center for Christian Virtue praised lawmakers for passing the bill and called on DeWine to sign it. The governor said he was inclined to sign the bill, but would first conduct a legal review.
“Today is a huge victory for Ohio’s children and families,” David Mahan, CCV policy director, said in a statement. “Amended SB104 is common-sense legislation that will ensure that the only people entering the private spaces of young women are women, not men pretending to be women.”
At least 11 states passed laws prohibiting transgender girls and women from accessing girls’ and women’s restrooms in public schools and, in some cases, other public facilities.
The laws are in effect in Alabama, ArkansasFlorida, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah. A judge’s order staying the execution is in effect in Idaho.
Ohio House Republicans attached the measure to a proposal for Ohio’s college credit program for high school students before passing it in June, much to the chagrin of one of the state’s Democratic senators who was committed as a co-sponsor.
Sen. Catherine Ingram of Cincinnati said she was withdrawing her name from the bill.
Senate Democratic Leader Nickie Antonio said she couldn’t believe Republican leaders prioritized the bill on the first day after the November election.
“There should be no exceptions to freedom and justice for all, and yet here we are telling our children that there are people who are inferior,” she said. “This bill is not about bathrooms. It is about demonizing those who are different, and our children are watching and listening to the fear-mongering.”
