Ohio Republican lawmakers introduce legislation targeting LGBTQ+ youth and preventing state agencies from being too affirming of transgender identities.
The Ohio Statehouse. (Photo by David DeWitt, Ohio Capital Journal.)
Ohio Republican lawmakers have introduced legislation that would punish state agencies and local governments for being too supportive of LGBTQ+ youth.
The bill sponsors argue that municipalities are too hard on those who don’t accept transgender and nonbinary identities.
Among a slew of provisions, conversion therapy would be reinstated where it has been banned, teachers may be prevented from using a student’s preferred pronouns, and parents wouldn’t be able to lose custody due to refusing to support their child’s gender identity.
“State institutions, government institutions cannot promote that woke ideology,” state Rep. Gary Click, R-Vickery, said in an interview Tuesday.
Click believes government agencies have been overly affirming of LGBTQ+ children, which he claims has hurt parents.
He and state Rep. Josh Williams, R-Sylvania Township, introduced a 55-page bill that would change how agencies can interact with transgender kids, among a wide variety of other things.
“We’re going to say in Ohio, it is not a danger to treat your child normally and to affirm your son is your son and your daughter is your daughter,” Click said.
Ohio House Bill 693 prevents agencies from penalizing parents for being unsupportive of their child’s LGBTQ+ gender identity.
Specifically targeting Cuyahoga County, the bill also limits how supportive government services can be for those who identify as LGBTQ+.