Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) said he vetoed legislation protecting children from transgender procedures because of personal appeals from families, rather than lessons learned from science-based research.
“Parents many times look me in the eye and said, ‘Governor, my child would not be alive today. They would have taken their life but for the ability to participate in this program,'” DeWine told Eyewitness News on Wednesday.
“For me that was very telling,” the Ohio governor said, after vetoing the bill to protect kids from commercial pressure to accept irreversible and experimental transgender-related hormones and surgeries.
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The vetoed bill — known as House Bill 68, or “the SAFE Act” — also protected kids from transgenderism in sports.
“The part of the bill that had to do with sports, I didn’t look at that,” DeWine admitted.
“We will certainly get to that,” the governor added. “I don’t favor having a male who transitions to a female and gets into sports like that inter-collegiate swimmer who was beating all the girls. No one wants to see that.”
The Ohio Legislature is set to convene on January 10, and DeWine’s veto of House Bill 68 is expected to be a top priority on the agenda.
“I stand by my decision, but I also believe and say again publicly the people on the other side of this issue also care about kids and they are basing their decision on what they think is best for kids. I happen to disagree,” the governor told Eyewitness News.
Meanwhile, DeWine is reportedly signing an Executive Order that makes sure Ohio hospitals do not perform transgender surgeries while also creating state standards for mental health treatments for both children and adults who say they are transgender.
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