Read more about Bexley’s LGBTQ+ community here and here.
A recently passed Ohio law is the newest example of rising anti-transgender legislation, which community members believe could have long-lasting effects on Bexley families and the community as a whole.
According to the Ohio Capital Journal, House Bill 68 was proposed in an attempt to exclude transgender students from participating in athletic competitions and limit access to gender-affirming care in Ohio.
The bill was passed by the Ohio House of Representatives, and according to the Ohio Capital Journal, it made its way to the Ohio Senate, where small adaptations were made to the bill and it was passed.
Board of Education President Victoria Powers said Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed the bill because he recognized high suicide rates for transgender students and believed parents are in a better position to make healthcare decisions with their doctors and children.
She explained the House and the Senate overrode the veto, and it is set to become law.
“The bill would go into effect 90 days after the final vote, assuming there is no court action to enjoin or stop the bill from going into effect,” Powers explained.
Columbus City Auditor Megan Kilgore said there has been an increasing amount of disconnect between what voters in Ohio believe and what the state government is choosing to spend its time on.
“I do not believe the state legislature is an accurate depiction of the true citizens of our state,” Kilgore said.
When Ohio’s elected officials create anti-LGBTQ+ pieces of legislation, it is a threat to Bexley’s prosperity, she said.
“This is unacceptable, and it means we risk losing out on attracting talented, civic-minded, diverse individuals or the companies who want to hire them,” Kilgore explained.
According to the Ohio Capital Journal, anti-transgender legislation has increased with record-breaking numbers over the past four years, and more anti-transgender legislation was discussed in 2023 than in the past eight years combined.
Senior Jules Clous said he is involved with a Nationwide Children’s Hospital program called Thrive which is providing psychiatry, family therapy and gender specific medication for LGBTQ+ youth.
“My care at Thrive is not foreseen to end, and anybody who is already receiving care will still be able to even if the bill is passed,” Clous explained.
Senior Riley Williamson said the waitlist for this program is more than a year long. When the bill takes effect, transgender individuals on the waitlist would be unable to receive treatment, he added.
“The care at Thrive is lifesaving, and if people are unable to receive care, they will struggle with schoolwork and be unable to join as many activities,” Williamson said. “Their social and mental health will struggle as well.”
Williamson’s father, Dan Williamson, said families with children in the early stages of gender dysphoria are nervous about the implications of the bill.
The issue is being looked at because a very small percentage of kids are transgender, and it’s not a percentage that impacts most families, he explained.
“This is an issue that is very easy to take political advantage of,” he said. “I know some of the lawmakers who voted for this law know it isn’t a good law but were afraid to object for political purposes.”
Dan Williamson added because not everyone knows someone who is transgender, it’s easy for others to view transgender kids and families as abnormal.
Clous said because Republicans lost on Issue 1 last November, he believes the Republican-controlled House pushed this legislation in an effort to give their voters something to reaffirm confidence in the party.
“Our communal consciousness in Ohio is going to be formed by this legislation,” he explained. “We’re all going to think a little more closed-minded when the legislation is the new normal.”
Clous said House Bill 68 could be a stepping stone for further legislation, and he believes it could open the floodgates for more anti-trans bills over the next few years.
He said the legislation would make it so nobody could have a vaguely good experience in high school by limiting transgender students’ opportunities.
“It is already difficult, awkward and frequently unfair for transgender men and women,” Clous said. “This would further alienate already alienated students. It would further exclude them from things that make the high school experience normal, comfortable and exciting.”
Kilgore explained students now have to be mindful when deciding where they want to work or attend college.
“I have to be very thoughtful and ask the question: ‘Does this community support me?’” she said.
Clous said he believes Bexley has shown DeWine how transgender people can fit into a community, but the Senate overrode the veto regardless.
“This affects my general sense of safety in the state of Ohio,” he said. “It will make all queer people less safe, less at home and less secure in their own state.”
