Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, on Friday issued an executive order prohibiting gender-transition surgeries on minors in his state and issued draft administrative rules on so-called gender-affirming care for minors and adults. DeWine’s directives came a week after his Dec. 29 veto of House Bill 68, the Saving Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act, which would restrict any gender-affirming care for minors in Ohio and bar biological males who “identify” as females from participating in girls’ and women’s interscholastic athletics.
Heritage Foundation legal scholar Sarah Parshall Perry herewith takes issue with DeWine’s decision. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.)
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine just vetoed a bill that would have protected women and children in the Buckeye State.
HB 68 is a commonsense bill with broad support designed to do two things: Protect minor children from irreversible damage by banning experimental surgeries and cross-sex hormones for those under 18 and prevent males from competing in female scholastic athletics.
70% of Americans agree that both minor children shouldn’t be rammed through gender-transition procedures and that boys don’t belong in women’s sports, which makes sense considering that those aren’t controversial positions. But Gov. DeWine would rather capitulate to a vocal minority screaming “settled science” or “trans women are women.”
"Women's sports is not a space nor a retirement plan for failed male athletes".
Without evidence, he also claims that his own executive action on the issue would have a better chance of surviving judicial review. He’s wrong, and the lawmakers of Ohio should show him by exercising a veto override before women and children have to pay the price for his political correctness.
Two of the Republicans vying for the GOP presidential nomination are refusing to weigh in on a key culture-war moment—the governor of Ohio vetoing a bill protecting children from gender ideology. Pictured: former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former South Carolina Gov. and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley speak during a break in the fourth Republican presidential primary debate at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Dec. 6, 2023. (Photo: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)
Two of the Republicans vying for the GOP presidential nomination are refusing to weigh in on a key culture-war moment—the governor of Ohio vetoing a bill protecting children from gender ideology. That bill, called the Enact Ohio Saving Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act, would bar physicians from performing transgender-reassignment surgeries on children as well as from prescribing cross-sex hormones or drugs to block children’s puberty. It also would allow students to sue if they are deprived of a fair playing field in sports due to transgender activism (such as a biological boy playing on a girls’ volleyball team) and protect parental rights to raise their children according to their biological sex.
Since many high-profile lawmakers and conservatives have focused their efforts on fighting transgender activism in recent years, Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto of the SAFE Act drew the outrage of former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who slammed the Republican for failing to protect children.
Presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Chris Christie have not yet weighed in on the topic. Pressed by The Daily Signal to share their thoughts on the governor’s veto, both Haley and Christie remained silent. Their reticence demonstrates a rift in the GOP field on the topic: While Trump, DeSantis, and Ramaswamy have indicated that lawmakers should act to protect children from destructive gender ideology, Haley and Christie have suggested that the law should stay out of the matter and parents should decide.
Haley has recently drawn heavy fire on the topic. In a June CBS interview clip that resurfaced shortly before the December presidential debate, though she criticized the idea of children undergoing permanent transgender sex changes before they turn 18, Haley suggested that “the law” should stay out of the matter.
“What care should be on the table when a 12-year-old child in this country assigned female at birth says, ‘Actually, I feel more comfortable living as a boy’?” asked her interviewer.
“Well, I think the law should stay out of it,” Haley said. “This is a job for the parents to handle.”
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former South Carolina Gov. and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy participate in the fourth Republican presidential primary debate at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Dec. 6, 2023. (Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
During the most recent presidential debates, moderator Megyn Kelly questioned Christie about his stances on this so-called gender-affirming care for children—transgender surgeries, hormones, and puberty blockers.
“How is it that you think a parent should be able to ‘OK’ these surgeries, never mind the sterilization of a child, and aren’t you way too out of step on this issue to be the Republican nominee?” she asked him.
“No, I’m not,” Christie responded, “because Republicans believe in less government, not more.” The presidential candidate went on to emphasize the importance of defending parental rights, though he indicated that he believes transgender interventions for children are dangerous.
.@megynkelly goes after Chris Christie for his stances on trans surgeries for kids: "How is it that you think a parent should be able to ok these surgeries, never mind the sterilization of a child, and aren't you WAY to out of step on this issue to be the Republican nominee?" pic.twitter.com/jZiLs4xPyS
Trump, DeSantis, and Ramaswamy clearly condemned DeWine’s veto.
“DeWine has fallen to the Radical Left,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Saturday, vowing that he would no longer promote the Republican governor. “No wonder he gets loudly booed in Ohio every time I introduce him at rallies, but I won’t be introducing him any more.”
“I’m finished with this ‘stiff.’ What was he thinking?” Trump asked. “The bill would have stopped child mutilation, and prevented men from playing in women’s sports.”
“Legislature will hopefully overturn,” he added. “Do it FAST!!!”
DeSantis similarly slammed DeWine, saying in a social media post: “The Ohio legislature should override the veto done by Trump-endorsed Gov. DeWine. I’ve signed both of these bills—and I was right to do so. Girls should be able to compete with fairness and integrity in sports. And these procedures are irreversible and should not be allowed, period.”
“There are two genders,” the presidential candidate said in a social media post. “Boys shouldn’t compete with girls in girls’ sports. Kids shouldn’t be subjected to genital mutilation & chemical castration when they suffer mental health lapses. Shame on Ohio Governor Mike DeWine for this failure.”
DeWine framed his Friday veto as an effort to bring consensus on a divisive issue and to avoid having the government decide what medical decisions are best for children. He also echoed the claims of pro-transgender activists that children will commit suicide if they don’t undergo so-called gender-affirming care, such as testosterone or estrogen injections or double mastectomies.
“Were House Bill 68 to become law, Ohio would be saying that the state, that the government, knows better what is best for a child than the two people who love that child the most, the parents,” DeWine said.
The governor has not responded to requests for comment from The Daily Signal. Ohio lawmakers have vowed that they will overturn the governor’s veto, and have scheduled a special legislative session to do so, according to The Washington Stand.
Cuyahoga County, Ohio which includes the city of Cleveland has taken Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s mask order too far. The county has created a mask hotline so neighbors can tattle on each other for not voluntarily wearing masks.
On July 8th, Gov. DeWine ordered that people living in seven counties must wear masks in public when they could not effectively social distance due to surging coronavirus cases. Cuyahoga county has decided to launch a hotline so you can report your neighbor for not wearing a mask. The county said you can snitch on them by either calling their hotline or reporting them online.
County Executive Armond Budish announced on Friday that (get ready for this), “This is not intended to be going out and finding people not wearing masks. We want people to wear their masks… We want people to do it voluntarily.”
The doublespeak here kills me, the whole purpose of this hotline is to find out who is not wearing a mask, otherwise what the heck is the point of it?
County workers will then contact the subject of the complaints — either individuals or businesses — to let them know a complaint has been filed, Budish said. Complaints also will be forwarded to the Board of Health, and the relevant city or village.
If the county receives repeated complaints or cases of “serious non-compliance,” the Sheriff’s Department could investigate or potentially file charges.
Local municipalities and police departments also could respond to violations however they see fit, which could include proactive policing, Budish said.
Should you fail to properly wear your mask and the county or the police feel like you need to be punished it is a second-degree misdemeanor, one could face up to 90 days in jail and fined $750.
So don’t worry, Health Commissioner Terry Allan said, the board will “work with people and give them time to understand and comply with the governor’s mandate.”However, if the Board of Health determines there efforts to reeducateyou have failed they will reach out to local law enforcement to “address the problem.”
American Family Association
American Family Association (AFA), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in 1977 by Donald E. Wildmon, who was the pastor of First United Methodist Church in Southaven, Mississippi, at the time. Since 1977, AFA has been on the frontlines of Ame
NEWSMAX
News, Opinion, Interviews, Research and discussion
Opinion
American Family Association
American Family Association (AFA), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in 1977 by Donald E. Wildmon, who was the pastor of First United Methodist Church in Southaven, Mississippi, at the time. Since 1977, AFA has been on the frontlines of Ame
American Family Association
American Family Association (AFA), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in 1977 by Donald E. Wildmon, who was the pastor of First United Methodist Church in Southaven, Mississippi, at the time. Since 1977, AFA has been on the frontlines of Ame
You Version
Bible Translations, Devotional Tools and Plans, BLOG, free mobile application; notes and more
Political
American Family Association
American Family Association (AFA), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in 1977 by Donald E. Wildmon, who was the pastor of First United Methodist Church in Southaven, Mississippi, at the time. Since 1977, AFA has been on the frontlines of Ame
NEWSMAX
News, Opinion, Interviews, Research and discussion
Spiritual
American Family Association
American Family Association (AFA), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in 1977 by Donald E. Wildmon, who was the pastor of First United Methodist Church in Southaven, Mississippi, at the time. Since 1977, AFA has been on the frontlines of Ame
Bible Gateway
The Bible Gateway is a tool for reading and researching scripture online — all in the language or translation of your choice! It provides advanced searching capabilities, which allow readers to find and compare particular passages in scripture based on
What Did You Say? 
You must be logged in to post a comment.