Ohio House Introduces Bill Prohibiting Transgender People From Participating In Women's Sports

On Wednesday, the Ohio House filed legislation that would prohibit transgender athletes from competing in women's sports at the collegiate and youth levels.

When State Representative, Jena Powell's House Bill 6 was heard by the House Higher Education Committee, she spent much of her time testifying on the biological differences between sexes and lamenting the possibility of a "biological male" winning a medal or championship in a sport traditionally associated with women.

"I am passionate about this issue because we cannot allow girls’ dreams of being a gold medal athlete to be crushed by biological males stealing their opportunities," Powell told the committee.

Single-gender sports teams are mandated by this bill, and athletes can sue for damages "if the participant is deprived of an athletic opportunity or suffers harm as a result of a violation of the bill's single-sex participation requirements or if the participant is subject to retaliation for reporting such a violation," according to a Legislative Service Commission analysis.

Powell was questioned by Democrats on the committee about whether or not she believed trans women existed, and they tried to narrow down the number of players the law might touch, which is low according to the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA).

State Representative Mary Lightbody (D-Westerville) recently expressed her regarding transgender females in school,  "It’s their mental health that I’m concerned about."

When describing her measure, Powell would only refer to "biological men" rather than "trans women," but she stated that this was done to preserve a "fair playing field" and the validity of federal Title IX law.

State Rep. Joe Miller, D-Lorrain, expressed his hope that proponents and opponents of the "extremely challenging law" would be "very intentional" in dealing with the matter. He also refuted concerns voiced throughout Wednesday's session that the presence of transgender athletes would make it harder for cisgender athletes to win scholarships or realize their goals.

Even if there is someone else competing with a tiny edge, "I believe they will get scholarships and they will go off to live their dreams," Miller said. "Ask anyone that has gone up against LeBron James."

The bill is starting its trip through the Republican-controlled General Assembly with more than two dozen co-sponsors.

State Rep. Derrick Merrin, R-Monclova, is one of the bill's cosponsors. Merrin has been generating a stir in the House since he was elected by the Republican caucus to be speaker but lost to current Speaker Jason Stephens, R-Kitts Hill.

Since then, Merrin has been at the helm of a breakaway group inside the state Republican Party that has its own set of policy interests.

Merrin, a member of the Higher Education Committee, has spoken out in favor of the law on the grounds that it will help students who participate in sports for women and girls.

He said that there was statewide support for the idea, so much so that he was confident the legislation would be implemented as described in the bill even if it were amended to allow individual school districts to implement their own policy on the matter.

The last GA saw a similar bill that would have permitted genital examination to prove biological gender fail to pass due to the aforementioned provision.

"This has passed in the House several times because the House knows women want to continue playing on a level playing field," Powell added.

Powell has stated that the OHSAA, who has already created a policy on the participation of trans athletes, will be among the organisations testifying at upcoming committee hearings.

Powell was asked about the prevalence of transgender athletes being denied participation in sports in Ohio, and Republican state representative Dave Dobos of Columbus immediately chimed in. Dobos stated that, according to OHSAA records, 23 transgender children had requested to participate in a sport that was consistent with their gender identity during the course of the previous eight years. Two were turned down.