Thread by @TheChrisMosier

🚨 OHIO: House Republican lawmakers in Ohio passed a bill last week that would ban transgender girls & women from participating in high school & college athletics. It also comes with a “verification process” of checking the genitals of those “accused” of being trans. 🤯

Understand this: anyone could "accuse" a young girl of being trans, which would trigger an inspection of her genitals. 👀
Ohio Republicans who are claiming they want to save & protect women are putting young girls & women in this situation. MAKE IT MAKE SENSE.
#OhioCanPlay

The attacks on trans girls impact ALL girls. Because you can't ban girls who are transgender unless you know which ones are trans. Lawmakers think looking in a young person's pants is a good way to figure this out.

But "protect young girls," amirite? 🙄

There was ONE TRANS GIRL participating in school sports in Ohio this year. ONE. In the whole state. That's according to Ohio State High School Athletic Association.

In fact: in the last 7 years the OSHAA has never had more than 1 trans girl in any given year.

To be clear: there are not swarms of trans athletes descending upon Ohio (or anywhere else in the country!) knocking cisgender girls out of spots - there is one young person in the entire state trying to play on their high school sports team.

While it is possible this bill will not move because the legislative session is now on pause until November, this is political signaling. It shows Ohio lawmakers are willing to use taxpayer dollars & time that could be spent making real change in the state to bully ONE KID.

Ohio already has a policy for transgender student-athletes that is among the more strict in the country, requiring high schoolers to have undergone one year of hormone therapy. Very few other states put that elite-level restriction on youth trying to play sports with friends.

Also, it's worth noting that this issue wasn't even on the schedule for Ohio lawmakers to discuss last week. But in search of ways to make it happen, desperate Republicans did a bait & switch.

Lawmakers are so set on attacking the trans community for political gain that when HB61, The ‘Save Women’s Sports Act,’ wasn’t on the schedule, Republican representatives added the language to a completely different bill, HB151, which would reduce state control in schools.

To every trans person in Ohio, I am so sorry this is happening. We know that these attacks are not really about sports, which makes this outrageous bill even more dangerous.
And to the ONE TRANS KID PLAYING SPORTS IN THE STATE, know that I will keep fighting for you. 🏳️‍⚧️❤️🥊

Ohio residents: please contact your lawmakers & tell them to LEAVE TRANS KIDS ALONE.
Please follow @EqualityOhio for more important updates on this bill & ways you can take action. #OhioCanPlay

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