Ohio House overrides governor’s veto of trans care ban and restriction on athletes

Ohio’s Republican-led House voted to override Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto of a bill that would restrict both transition-related medical care for minors and transgender athletes’ participation on school sports teams.

The House voted 65-28 Wednesday, prompting chants of “Shame!” from the House gallery and the House livestream to be temporarily cut.

The bill will now go to the Senate, where a three-fifths majority is also needed to override the veto. Senate President Matt Huffman told NBC affiliate WCMH of Columbus that the chamber has the required votes and is likely to also override the veto on Jan. 24, which would make Ohio the 23rd state with a restriction on transition-related care and the 25th to limit trans student athletes’ participation.

Before the vote, more than a dozen representatives spoke out both in favor of and against the bill, which would ban puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgery for minors who weren’t already receiving such treatment before the bill’s effective date.

“No parent has the constitutional right to harm their child,” Rep. Gary Click, the bill’s Republican sponsor, said Wednesday on the House floor. “The same government that requires you to send your children to school, prohibits you from giving them illicit drugs and can charge parents with neglect and abuse also has the obligation to prevent parents and physicians from chemically castrating and sterilizing their children.”

Click also called on DeWine to issue an executive order preventing the distribution of puberty blockers and hormone therapy for 90 days until the bill takes effect, because, he said, he believes the measure will cause “a rush on the pharmacies to get those dangerous and deforming drugs.”

Rep. Anita Somani, a Democrat