Ohio activists quash an anti-trans resolution in major victory for trans rights

In a victory for trans Ohioans, the Ohio State Board of Education decided to delay voting on an anti-trans resolution that would ban trans girls from women’s sports teams, force teachers to out trans students to their parents, and ban classroom discussions on LGBTQ issues in kindergarten through third grade.

The resolution was introduced by board member Brandon Shea and rejects a proposed rule from the Biden administration to apply Title IX anti-discrimination protections to LGBTQ students nationwide.

It aligns with a lawsuit against President Joe Biden’s proposal put forth by Ohio’s Republican Attorney General Dave Yost (along with other state attorneys general) and states that sex is an “unchangeable fact” and that “there are observable, quantifiable, and immutable differences between males and females.”

“Denying the reality of biological sex destroys foundational truths upon which education rests and irreparably damages children,” it declares.

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The resolution blasted the Biden administration for “federal overreach” and criticized its assertion that schools who fail to adhere to gender anti-discrimination policies could lose federal funding for free and reduced lunch programs.

Activists, teachers, parents, students, and the like showed up in droves to testify against the resolution – after many in favor of it also spoke.

“The mental, emotional and psychological toll will be huge if it is passed because it takes away protections from the students who need those protections the most,” said Rev. Andrew Burns of the King Avenue United Methodist Church. “And I would be one of the people who would have to clean up the mess left behind.”

After four hours of public comments, trans rights won the day, and the board decided to delay a vote on the measure.

In a 12-7 vote, the board decided to send the resolution to an executive committee. Some board members believe it will probably die there, according to Cleveland.com. A softer version of the proposal will also reportedly be considered by the committee.

But the decision is still a huge victory.

Activist Erin Reed tweeted, “I can’t overstate how big a victory we just won in Ohio for trans people was. We got a boardroom full of Republican school officials to vote AGAINST moms for Liberty anti trans policies. The activists speeches objectively swayed things. The anti-trans group was stunned.”

Reed continued to explain that the vote shows that being anti-trans is becoming an extreme position, also praising Jon Stewart for his recent skewering of Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge (R) for the state’s ban on gender-affirming care for youth.

“The same arguments were repeated multiple times in the testimony,” Reed continued. “Ultimately though the credit goes to the activists who showed up. It was a pleasure to watch this and help mobilize from the VERY beginning. The fight isn’t over in Ohio. It isn’t over anywhere. but we won one for the kids today.”