December 14, 2023

Gov. DeWine: Please Veto HB 68

I debated sending this out to y’all tomorrow, but time is of the essence.

According to a 2022 survey, transgender adults make up just 0.51% of Ohioans. That’s roughly 46,000 adults. As of 2021, there were 11.78 million people in the state. There were approximately 8500 trans folks between the ages of 13-17 and another 12,200 aged 18-24. HB 68 would prevent the under-18 group from accessing puberty blockers (which pause puberty and are harmless), hormone replacement therapy (HRT), some types of mental healthcare, or other gender affirming healthcare. Health care professionals who provide these kinds of care could lose their licenses and be sued.

It would also affect the ability of specifically trans women and feminine people to play sports in Kindergarten through college. Earlier this spring, the Ohio Cap Journal reported that there were only six trans girls playing sports in Ohio who would be affected.

This is clearly transmisogyny, a particular form of both sexism and transphobia that work together to harm trans girls, women, and feminine folks.

Considering the six, it’s wild how much time, energy, and taxpayer money has been spent on this bill over the last couple of years. An iteration of this bill was introduced last legislative session, too, by the same person even.

DeWine previously said in 2021 that he was against sports bans, stating,

This issue is best addressed outside of government, through individual sports leagues and athletic associations, including the Ohio High School Athletic Association, who can tailor policies to meet the needs of their member athletes and member institutions.

I am (perhaps misguidedly) hopeful that he sees the absurdity in these bills. I highly encourage you to reach out, especially if you’re in Ohio, have a connection to Ohio (waves), and/or are a part of or an ally to the transgender community.

What follows is a letter I sent to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine Thursday, December 14, 2023, in response to the state legislative bodies passing HB 68 on Wednesday. Gov. DeWine has 10 days from Wednesday to sign HB 68 into law OR veto it.

My Letter

I am writing to you as a concerned citizen to urgently request that you veto House Bill 68, which prevents transgender youth from receiving gender-affirming health care and participating in school sports consistent with their gender identity. This is a dangerous bill that would harm the safety and well-being of LGBTQ+ youth, not to mention healthcare providers and those in the athletic community.

I urge you to please veto this bill.

I write to you as an internationally renowned sex educator and researcher, someone who works with groups ranging from Harvard Medical School and the American College of Rheumatology to local movements and governments across the nation. I create educational content, helping people to learn about minoritized groups, which has improved how Fortune 500 companies learn about the world and how to act within it in better ways. From my time living in Wisconsin to my time here in Ohio, I have worked internationally to improve understanding of accessibility, healthcare, and the patient experience – including working with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to lessen the rates of preventable chronic diseases.

Above all else, I write to you as a transgender man, as someone who is wildly negatively affected both personally and professionally by transphobia. I can tell you that HB 68 will worsen the viewpoints of Ohio as a state worth moving to or attending college in.

It will increase the amount of hate a very small minority of people receive. For it to specifically target children is abhorrent.

A Word on Trans Youth in Sports

The anti-trans sports ban (which we saw in the last general assembly as SB 132 and HB 151) is an example of extreme government overreach and intervention. The Ohio High School Athletic Association and NCAA already have scientifically supported policies in place to ensure that sports are fair and accessible to all. These are experts who have studied this topic in-depth, connected with true experts, and deeply understand these issues. 

Legislators can be experts on many things, but those introducing and supporting this bill are not experts on this topic. They have not done unbiased or true research into this; instead, many representatives and others uneducated on this topic are relying on harmful, biased, and skewed viewpoints on this matter.

All Ohio youth that want to take part in athletics belong in sports. Participation in sports is an invaluable part of students’ physical, social, and emotional well-being. Playing sports can provide student athletes with important lessons about leadership, self discipline, teamwork, success, and failure—as well as the joy and shared excitement of being part of a team. It can also positively impact their academics, making Ohio’s students competitive while also giving them strong roots in our state. Instead of celebrating and encouraging this amazing phenomenon, the anti-trans sports ban seeks to single out transgender young people for increased bullying and harassment by needlessly preventing them from participating in the sports they love.

I grew up not playing sports, as I was critically ill for much of my youth. By the time I was physically well enough to play a sport, I was an adult and really had no connections to sport itself. Living in Wisconsin at the time, I encountered a local hockey association that welcomed beginners and was heavily focused on making the space LGBTQ+ friendly. I learned more about myself and my ability to grow – both physically and emotionally – in the six months I played than I had in years prior. 

With the pandemic shutting down my ability to play hockey (I’m immunocompromised), I also know what it’s like to be forced out from a space that I grew to love. It was hard to handle as an adult and, frankly, no child should ever have to go through that – especially when they’re barred from playing because of bigotry. The self-esteem impact that will have on these kids who are at pivotal points in their lives is something we cannot undo.

A Word on Gender Affirming Care

The anti-trans gender affirming care ban is another example of extreme government overreach. As has been repeatedly brought up, the bill is based on stigma and bias, not on science nor a genuine regard for the wellbeing of youth in Ohio. 

Gender affirming care is safe, effective, and doctor-recommended medical care. This has been studied by health care providers, researchers, and many others for over 100 years, going back to the Institute for the Science of Sexuality (Institut für Sexualwissenschaft) founded in Germany in 1919. This institute helped study and pioneer health care for transgender folks, including hormones and surgery. It operated and served as a beacon internationally for acceptance and care. That is, until the Nazi regime raided the center on May 6, 1933. Soldiers and Nazi youth groups worked together to destroy research within the building, murder staff still located on site, and then burn over 20,000 books and pieces of research. A decent collection of research remained, giving us the ability to continue research and provide affirming care to the transgender community.

The state of Ohio must not penalize healthcare providers for providing good, standard, and necessary care to their patients. Furthermore, legislators with no medical knowledge must not practice medicine by pushing bills like this. 

Ohio cannot push transgender healthcare back to the fear instilled in folks by the Nazi regime. 

We cannot go backwards.

All Ohioans deserve access to health care, but especially health care that does not tell them they are abominations. That goes double for transgender youth. Most parents affirm their children and want them to feel at-home in their bodies – and in Ohio. These parents should not have to worry about their children’s ability to access care and treatment. They also should not have to worry if their children feel comfortable and welcome in spaces such as school or if their child may suffer a hate crime. 

Children should NEVER be a political pawn. 

As we’ve seen in other states that have passed similar bills — like Texas and Florida — these families will leave for more welcoming states, and Ohio will suffer for it.

I agree we must protect our children. The best way to do so is to ensure that they have access to best-practice physical and mental health treatment. 

Instead, this bill directly puts already vulnerable LGBTQ+ youth at risk of losing access to vital, best-practice healthcare. We know that, without affirming healthcare, children and teens will commit suicide – and that’s not hyperbole.

As a teenager, I was happy. I was (relatively) healthy, too. When my personal hormone makeup changed and more estrogen was introduced because of puberty, I began to struggle. I experienced chronic pain – something I had before, but was definitely worsening – in addition to migraines and struggling with self-esteem and self-image far beyond what the average kid was facing. 

The bubbly person who I was went away because of puberty. I became quiet, withdrawn, and experienced suicidal thoughts. I grew up in a home where I was not supported, and this exacerbated these thoughts.

It wasn’t until I started testosterone in January 2020 that I regained the contented feeling I had in my youth. And, no, it didn’t make me better at hockey - that’s a myth. What it did do was to help my chronic pain ease up and give me back my life. Prior to starting intense physical therapy, hockey, and testosterone, I could barely sit up for two hours straight without immense pain — or even passing out. I literally could not work for a few years. But after? I gained a whole new lease on life. 

When I think about the years of major depression, relationship issues, suicidal thoughts, and chronic pain I endured because I did not have the option these kids have today, and then think about them getting this taken away from them?

The only word I can think of is monstrous, and it's not a word Ohio needs to be associated with.

We can protect children and teens and allow them the ability to be who they are. It isn’t hard to do — puberty blockers (which only pause the process) and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) aren't rocket science. But, what they do is give us a proven way to ensure that transgender children grow into healthy and happy adults.

As someone who is passionate about equity in our world but especially in state legislation, I want to offer to serve as a resource for you. If there is anything that I can do to help share information with you to better enable you to make the most educated decisions possible, please know that I am here and happy to do so.

Sending all my best to you and your family in the holiday season,
A Proud Transgender Man in Athens

If you have feedback or anything you’d like to share, feel free to reach out to me on social media or by email (all linked here).

Talk to y’all soon!
Grayson