On Wednesday, the GOP-led Ohio Senate voted to override Republican Governor Mike DeWine’s veto of HB 68, a bill that will protect the Buckeye State’s children from risky and experimental sex-change operations and hormone therapies. In addition, HB 68 will prevent biological males from competing in female-only sports competitions.
DeWine vetoed the bill in late December, sparking outrage from his supposed allies in the GOP. Earlier this month, Ohio’s House of Representatives also voted to override DeWine’s veto. The vote was 24-8 in favor of the override; only 20 votes were needed to complete the override. By Ohio law, the new law will take effect in 90 days.
Ohio’s joins North Carolina and Louisiana, which also have overridden gubernatorial vetoes on similar bills.
DeWine had fallen for the specious claim that such therapies were “life saving,” even though they are the very definition of elective procedures. The governor said he had spoken to the parents of transgendered children prior to vetoing the legislation.
“They told me their child is alive only because they received care,” he said at the time. “Ultimately, I believe this is about protecting human life.”
DeWine doesn’t plan to do anything to stop implementation of the new law.
“The legislature has the constitutional right to override anything, any bill that I sign, or any or any bill that I veto,” he stated on Wednesday. “That’s part of our system. And I respect our system. It doesn’t mean I like the vote, but I respect our system.”
Prior to the Wednesday vote, DeWine reiterated his objection to the bill. “I think parents should make those decisions and not the government,” he said.
But the Ohio Legislature disagreed with the governor.
“There are men and there are women and there are boys and there are girls and they are different,” said Republican Senator Kristina Roegner. “Gender is not fluid. There is no such thing as a gender spectrum.”
State Representative Gary Click (R), a co-author of the bill, wanted to assure DeWine that there were no hard feelings, despite the veto.
“I feel confident that Governor DeWine acted from his heart,” Click said in a statement posted to X. “I continue to feel that with more time and opportunity it may have been possible for the governor to share in our understanding of this vital issue. Nevertheless, he did what he felt was right, as he should.”
“The legislature, however, felt just as strongly if not more so that HB 68 was imperative to save lives, uphold medical ethics, and reaffirm women’s rights,” Click added. “The citizens of Ohio were unequivocal in their demand that the legislature act and we did.”
Democrats, of course, took the opposite view.
“Politicians have no business banning evidence-based, life-saving medical care — especially when it is endorsed by every major medical and mental health association,” said Nickie Antonio, the Ohio Senate’s Democratic leader. “We should listen to parents, providers and patients, not willfully and purposely pass harmful legislation that will add to the mass exodus of individuals from the state of Ohio.”
The Legislature’s override of DeWine’s veto isn’t likely to be the last word on the subject, since transgender zealots have been known to be quite litigious when they feel their right to mutilate children is being challenged.
On X, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost signaled that he is ready for the coming fight: “The Ohio Senate will convene shortly to consider HB68. If they override the governor’s mistaken veto — and they should — I am prepared to defend it against the inevitable legal challenge.”
The LGBT extremist organization Human Rights Campaign, which claims to be a “civil rights” group, also promised political action, somehow attaching the Senate’s override to former President Trump.
“These legislators have abdicated their responsibility to do what’s right for the Ohioans they represent, casting votes that they know full well will harm innocent children, all to appease the leader of the MAGA agenda,” said Kelley Robinson, the group’s president, in a statement. “The legislature has repeatedly made clear it is out of step with the citizens of Ohio, and Ohioans have had enough. They have the opportunity this November not just to kick them out of office, but to begin the process for securing fair maps that accurately reflect the needs of the state.”
But who is really harming innocent children here? The people looking to normalize the chopping off of body parts, or those attempting to stop that demented practice?
