COLUMBUS, Ohio — Republicans in Congress don’t agree with the judge’s decision to temporarily lift Ohio’s ban on care that affirms a child’s gender.
The law, which starts on April 24, will not allow gender-affirming treatments or hormone therapies. It will also limit mental health care for transgender people under the age of 18. This law also says that transgender girls and women can’t be on girls’ or women’s sports teams in K–12 or college.
Franklin County Judge Michael Holbrook wrote that the law probably breaks a rule that says state laws should only be about one thing.
The Save Women’s Sports Act was pushed by State Representative Jena Powell.
“The bottom line is that when you have a male competing in female-only sports, it’s unfair,” he said.
According to Powell, the judge’s choice to issue the temporary restraining order based on the rule that the order only affect one subject is “grasping at straws.”
“When we combine pieces of legislation, which happens all the time, you know, we ensure that it’s constitutional,” he said. “Therefore, I know for sure that it is constitutional. We worked with some of the smartest people in the country, and they also know it’s legal.
Senate President Matt Huffman doesn’t agree with how the legal system handles cases involving House Bill 68, which he also says was passed in line with the state law.
“I think there’s a general concern, stepping outside that issue, with statewide injunctions by a single common pleas court judge,” he said.
Nickie Antonio, who is the Senate Minority Leader, thinks the rule is against the Constitution.
“This ruling sort of reinforces that for right now, and I’m hopeful that going forward it will be deemed unconstitutional in general, in total,” he said.
Antonio also said she thinks that both parts of the law take away Ohioans’ rights.
The restraining order will stay in place for 14 days after April 16 or until the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction is heard.
