On December 18, HB 68, agreed to by both chambers of the 135th General Assembly of the State of Ohio, was sent to Governor Mike DeWine’s (R) desk. The bill would protect minors from gender transition procedures and also protect the integrity of women’s sports. According to the Ohio Constitution, Governor DeWine has 10 days (excluding Sundays) to sign or veto this bill. Otherwise, it will automatically become law notwithstanding his signature. Thus, he has until December 29 to make his decision.
There have been numerous occasions where DeWine has either ceremoniously or unceremoniously signed bills into law the same day or next day it was sent to his desk. However, HB 68, which is a combination of the SAFE Act and the Save Women’s Sports Act, lies dormant. While I would like to believe the governor is acting out of sheer necessity, I believe there are other factors at play that are causing this pause.
To get the full scope here, we need to rewind to January 2022. The DeWine-Husted ticket faced an uphill primary gubernatorial battle. With three primary challengers in play, the headline read: “Governor DeWine Announces Monumental Investment by Intel to Bring their Most Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Plants to Ohio.” It will be the largest investment in Ohio’s history — $20 billion dollars to create two state-of-the-art facilities in Licking county by 2025. It will create 20,000 jobs, including 3,000 jobs directly with Intel with an average salary of $135,000 per year.
This announcement, along with the announcement of the newest EV battery manufacturing center in Fayette county, helped propel the DeWine-Husted ticket back to the governor’s mansion. Why? It’s just like George H.W. Bush said, “It’s the economy, stupid.” Ohio’s economy was suffering enormously in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unemployment was at 16.4% at the height of the pandemic, there were hundreds of millions of dollars paid out in fraudulent pandemic unemployment assistance, and inflation went sky high.
Now, the pandemic has come and gone, the DeWine-Husted administration returned for a second term on the heels of these major deals, and all has seemed to go okay. But now is it any wonder that Ohio’s governor is hemming and hawing on signing a bill that goes against the LGBTQ+ agenda?
Intel is a signer of the Human Rights Campaign’s “Business Statement on Anti-LGBTQ+ State Legislation” from 2020. (It is a living document, meaning businesses can continue to sign on at any time.) It reads (in part):
“We are deeply concerned by the bills being introduced in state houses across the country that single out LGBTQ+ individuals-many specifically targeting transgender youth-for exclusion or differential treatment. Laws that would affect access to medical care for transgender people, parental rights, social and family services, student sports, or access to public facilities such as restrooms, unnecessarily and uncharitably single out already marginalized groups for additional disadvantage. They seek to put the authority of state government behind discrimination and promote mistreatment of a targeted LGBTQ+ population.”
The deal with Intel has been touted as the “single largest investment in Ohio’s history” and rightfully so. However, the question has now become will DeWine put this investment above the safety of our children? Will he continue to allow experimental drugs and procedures to continue to proceed on children who legally and psychologically cannot consent? While leftists within the medical community want to say it’s to prevent children with gender dysphoria from committing suicide, most science now agrees that the suicide risk is highest after a person has medically transitioned genders.
Will DeWine allow for transgender “women” (who are biological men) to take over the accomplishments of women’s sports? To this, DeWine and others have previously said that the Ohio High School Athletics Association already has guidelines about governing this. However, if you were a true champion of women, wouldn’t you want to ensure their privacy in the locker room and ensure that their ability to receive accolades and scholarships will not be endangered by biological males?
While I can understand the immense pressure it must be to be a governor in considering any piece of legislation, it’s time to put people over profits. It’s time to put young women, girls, and children over profits. It’s time to put truth over profits.
Amanda Magoteaux is a former intern with Family Research Council, former Ohio legislative staffer, and new mom.
