Breaking away from the anti-LGBTQIA position of the right wing Republican party in the US, Ohio’s Republican governor, Mike DeWine, vetoed a measure that would have banned gender-affirming care for minors, and disallow transgender athletes to participate in girls and women’s sports.
The state’s legislators are predominantly Republican, and so could override DeWine’s veto. But no immediate move was announced.
The anti-LGBTQIA measure, passing the legislature earlier in December with extremist Republican support, would have prohibited Ohio minors from:
- taking puberty blockers;
- undergoing other hormone therapies; or
- receiving gender reassignment surgery to align them with their gender identity.
Minors already receiving treatment would have been allowed to continue treatment.
The measure similarly:
- required public K-12 schools and universities to designate separate teams for males and females, and
- banned transgender girls and women from participating in sports aligned with their gender identity (only to join those in accordance with their sex assigned at birth).
