GOP governor vetoes bill that would have protected kids from gender changes

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Friday vetoed legislation that would have protected minors from receiving sex change surgeries and hormone blockers. The blocked measure would also have protected sports for girls and women from participation by males. DeWine alluded that he may support a revised version of the bill. Despite the veto, the governor said he advised his agencies to ban sex change surgeries on minors and heavily restrict “pop-up” clinics for gender treatments. Republicans in the state legislature potentially have enough votes to override the governor’s veto. Rep. Derek Merrin wrote on social media that the state House should hold an override vote in January.

Why is DeWine vetoing a Republican bill if he’s a Republican? DeWine is going against traditional party lines with his veto. DeWine said that before deciding to veto, he talked to physicians, councilors, parents, and patients “both positively and negatively affected” by surgery. He explained his ultimate belief that a child's parents, not the government, have the right to decide what surgeries their child may or may not receive. He claimed the treatments could save lives, based on what some parents told him.

Dig deeper: Read Leo Briceno and Carolina Lumetta’s report in The Stew on Chris Christie’s controversial parental rights opinion from the last GOP primary debate.