Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill 104 into law on Wednesday, Nov. 27, requiring students in K-12 schools, colleges and universities to use restrooms and locker rooms that align with their assigned sex at birth.
The legislation, which will take effect 90 days after DeWine signed it, effectively bars transgender students in the state from using the facilities that align with their gender identities. Such facilities will now be “for the exclusive use” of either males or females, and no “multi-occupancy facility that is designated as nongendered, multi-gendered, or open to all genders” will be allowed.
This does not apply to someone entering facilities to assist a person with a disability or a parent helping a child under ten.
Until the bill becomes official law, lawsuits are expected to be filed against the bill, as shown in previous states that had passed similar laws. However, confidence in such lawsuits succeeding in this case is lacking among local legal professionals:
“There’s good reason to believe that if the [Ohio] Attorney General decides to defend this case, they’re going to lose,” Cleveland attorney Robert Chaloupka shared in a story with Ohio Capital Journal. “Which means we’re spending taxpayer money on something that we have a good sense of how it’s going to go.”
The discourse
Supporters of the bill insist that it will protect students in bathrooms and locker rooms.
“It protects our children and grandchildren in private spaces where they are most vulnerable,” Republican State Senator Jerry C. Cirino, the bill’s primary sponsor, said just before the bill’s passage in the state legislature. “It is us using our legislative authority to ensure schools are, in fact, safe environments. After all, bathrooms, showers, changing rooms should all be safe places for our students.”
However, there is no actual evidence that letting transgender people use their preferred bathroom increases safety risks. Instead, bills like these tend to backfire, actually increasing violence as opposed to decreasing it.
A study done by the Harvard School of Public Health reported that 36% of transgender and nonbinary students have been sexually assaulted under a bathroom/locker room restriction bill. Transgender people are also over four times more likely to be the target of a violent crime compared to cisgender people.
Because of this, allies and members of the LGBTQ+ community argue this bill only exists to harm already marginalized groups.
The American Civil Liberties Union, an organization dedicated to protecting human rights nationwide, was a vocal opponent of the bill.
“Senate Bill 104 is a cruel invasion of students’ rights to privacy,” said Jocelyn Rosnick, Policy Director of ACLU Ohio. “Which could result in unwarranted governmental disclosures of private, personal information. If allowed to go into effect, SB 104 will create unsafe environments for trans and gender non-conforming individuals of all ages. This bill ignores the material reality that transgender people endure higher rates of sexual violence and assaults, particularly while using public restrooms, than people who are not transgender. All Ohioans deserve to access the facilities they need, in alignment with their gender identity, without fear of harassment or bullying.”
The common consensus among those opposed is that the bill will result in an increase of violence, harassment and abuse against transgender students in school, putting an already targeted demographic into more danger.
How will it be enforced?
Questions arise over how this law will be enforced, or if it is even possible to enforce, short of a police officer standing outside every bathroom, checking a student’s genitals.
Ohio Republicans had previously attempted to pass a bill that would require underage students to go through inspections before they were allowed to participate in school sports.
“An internal and external evaluation of reproductive anatomy as required by [House Bill] 151 is not simply ‘looking’ and goes beyond a normal sports physical,” OB/GYN Dr. Anita Somani said during a press call in 2022 with Ohio state representatives to discuss the dangers of the bill. “I can only imagine the trauma a middle school or high school girl would experience, first on being accused of not being a true girl, and then having to undergo an invasive and painful exam in order to prove to a stranger that her genitals meet their expectations.”
The passing of this bill doesn’t just spark controversy in the LGBTQ+ community but raises concerns for student privacy and child safety.
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