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‘Kids should not be carved up or drugged into sterility and adolescent boys should not play girls’ sports’

A majority of lawmakers in the Republican-controlled Ohio Statehouse voted Wednesday to override GOP Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto of a bill that prohibits biological males from competing in women’s sports as well as restricts sex-change treatments.

“The House voted 65-28 to override DeWine’s veto after an emotional debate, with Republicans supporting it and Democrats voting no,” the Columbus Dispatch reported Wednesday. “…The Senate is expected to follow the House’s action on Jan. 24.”

House Bill 68, also known as the SAFE Act, states that “no school, interscholastic conference, or organization that regulates interscholastic athletics shall knowingly permit individuals of the male sex to participate on athletic teams or in athletic competitions designated only for participants of the female sex.”

“BIG WIN TODAY,” Republican Ohio state Rep. Jena Powell posted on X after the vote.

BIG WIN TODAY! Veto override passed on HB 68 #swsohio pic.twitter.com/cabD0KFCuc

— State Representative Jena Powell (@VoteJenaPowell) January 10, 2024

Republican Ohio state Sen. Theresa Gavarone, who posted on X that she co-sponsored H.B. 68 “because the bill is strongly pro-women and pro-children,” said the next step is the Senate.

“I’m extremely disappointed Governor DeWine chose to veto, but our work will not stop there,” she added. “Today, the House voted to override his veto and I’m excited to do the same when the Senate reconvenes soon.”

While banning biological males who identify as women from competing on female sports teams in high school and college is a major point of contention in Ohio and nationwide, DeWine reportedly largely ignored that aspect of the bill.

Instead, he said he vetoed the legislation in late December because of its restrictions on transgender treatments.

“Proponents say the measure would protect children and level the playing field for female athletes, but critics contend it’d harm an already vulnerable group of Ohioans. In vetoing the bill, DeWine said decisions about transgender medical care should be left to families and their physicians,” the Dispatch reported.

Activists who call for defining women as a biological category in sports, such as Riley Gaines, praised the override Wednesday.

Ohio State House successfully voted 65-28 to override Gov DeWines veto 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

The bill will now head to the Senate for a vote set for January 24th. Onward! pic.twitter.com/ObpIb1NeIC

— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) January 10, 2024

Last week, DeWine had tried to appease those who were upset with him by signing an executive order “banning genital mutilation surgeries for minors and announcing upcoming rules to put some regulatory guardrails on the gender ideology empire,” the Independent Women’s Forum posted.

“…Why? These measures are directly aimed at preventing the Ohio legislature from overriding his veto of H.B. 68, an incredibly popular and sensible bill that would protect minors from life-altering chemical and physical mutation and protect women who wish to play sports against women,” the women’s group argued.

“In a country that doesn’t agree on much, we do have consensus on a few simple issues. Kids should not be carved up or drugged into sterility and adolescent boys should not play girls’ sports.”

MORE: Ohio governor nixes bill that would have blocked males in women’s sports

IMAGE: Twitter screenshot

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