Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has become the latest Republican elected official who, according to critics, cannot seem to muster the moral courage to do the right thing to protect children from indecent exposures and from making decisions at a young age that will impact them for the rest of their lives.
On Friday, he vetoed a bill passed by the GOP-controlled legislature that would ban minors from undergoing permanent body-altering transgender surgeries as well as prohibit biological boys from competing in girl’s sporting events while sharing intimate spaces with them.
In a statement, DeWine rejected the Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act, which passed Ohio’s GOP-dominated state legislature earlier this month, saying he could not sign the bill “as it is currently written,” according to Fox News.
“This bill would impact a very small number of Ohio’s children. But, for those children who face gender dysphoria and for their families, the consequences of this bill could not be more profound,” DeWine said during a press conference.
After claiming that the legislation only impacts a “very small number” of the state’s children, DeWine then said that “many parents” have contacted him over the issue.
“Ultimately, I believe this is about protecting human life. Many parents have told me that their child would not have survived, would be dead today if they had not received the treatment they received from one of Ohio’s children’s hospitals,” he said. “I’ve also been told by those who are now grown adults that but for this care, they would have taken their life when they were teenagers.”
DeWine stated that he visited various children’s hospitals in the state and engaged with those who have divergent perspectives on the issue before arriving at his decision. Although he ultimately vetoed the bill, he acknowledged concerns raised in the legislation that aligned with his own and expressed a desire to address them in collaboration with the General Assembly.
“I truly believe that we can collaborate, find common ground, and adopt rules to protect Ohio children, adults, and families in this area. It will be my goal in the coming weeks to get these protections adopted through a collaborative and deliberate process,” he said.
Former University of Kentucky Division I swimmer Riley Gaines, who pressured DeWine earlier this week, criticized the decision in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“Gov. DeWine has proven himself to be a spineless coward who is unwilling to do the obviously right and moral thing. This veto doesn’t represent the majority of Ohioans or the majority of Americans. I’m confident and hopeful the Ohio legislature will override his veto,” she said.
