Ohio transgender sports ban bill
By: Samantha Wright
Senate Bill 132 and House Bill 61 would not allow transgender women to play on girls’ sports teams within the state of Ohio.
According to the Columbus Dispatch Rep. Jena Powell, Sen. Kristina Roegner, R-Hudson say their bills are meant to protect the integrity of women’s sports. They say transgender girls have an unfair advantage. The bills are called the “Save Women’s Sports Act.”
Eliana Turan, of Cleveland, the Development Director of LGBT Community Center, writer, and civil rights fighter. Turan believes the community would be affected in a lot of ways.
“The Trans community is a deeply marginalized community that I am a part of. Athletics in so many ways can offer a way out of marginalization. Athletics can have a sense of community, a sense of belonging, a sense of value and accomplishment. Sports can help you channel yourself into something productive,” Turan said.
Turan believes laws like this are designed to hurt people rather than help people and are based on ignorance and fear.
“You have to be on hormone replacement therapy for a year or more, this isn’t just you wanting to switch teams because you think you’re going to be better at a different game. I don’t think they would do that because coming out as Trans is a big deal and will affect your life in a lot of different ways,” Turan said.
Turan explains that seeing anti-trans bills are based on a false notion that if Trans people are a part of public life that public life is going to collapse in some way.
“Girls in women’s sports do need to be saved but not from Trans people, I think that girls in women’s sports need to be saved from systemic misogyny that robs female athletes of resources that male athletes receive,” Turan said.
Zac Boyer, Director of Programs & marketing at Stonewall Columbus. According to the Stonewall Columbus website, they have been promoting the inclusion and equity of the LGBTQ community in every position they have held.
“It’s frustrating that this is just one of many bills that are coming forward and giving misinformation that really tears down LGBT people and specifically targeting LGBT youth,” Boyer said.
Boyer expresses that they would love to see the sources these representatives are using when giving their misinformation.
“The politically conservative folks are using the guides of “protecting kids”, we know that the science shows having access to gender-affirming care saves lives more than anything,” Boyer said.
Boyer believes not allowing kids to play on the sports team with their aligning gender is just a continuation of discrimination against the LGBT community.
Tim Stried, Director of Communications at the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) explains if the law would be passed and go into effect would have an impact on their Transgender Policy. They allow transgender women to play on girl sports teams after one year of hormone treatment.
“A state law oversees OHSAA bylaws, we explain to the members of our school if a transgender law would go into effect we would have to change our policy to comply with the state law,” he said.
Stried explained that if the law goes adopted OSHAA would have to see what the final law says then modify their policy to the passed law.
“In the last 7 years in all of the junior high and high school sports, there have been 14 approvals for male to female transgender students,” he said.
Stried explains OSHAA supports participation by all students and does not leave out transgender students.
According to the Human Rights Campaign, there are more than 250 anti-LGBTQ bills under consideration in more than 30 state legislators across the United States.
Anti-Trans sports bill pending in Ohio https://t.co/MoeRYD9LtT
— Sam Wright (@Sammerzjo) October 25, 2021
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