COLUMBUS, Ohio (LifeSiteNews) — Ohio is one step closer to protecting girls from having men walk around their locker rooms and bathrooms.
The Ohio Senate passed legislation last week that prohibits gender-confused men from showering in girls’ locker rooms and using their bathrooms. The bill, which already passed the Ohio House, now awaits signature from moderate Republican Gov. Mike DeWine.
The bill, which also addresses issues of school performance and funding, affirms protections for single-sex restrooms and locker rooms at public grade schools, high schools, and universities.
“No school shall permit a member of the female biological sex to use a student restroom, locker room, changing room, or shower room that has been designated by the school for the exclusive use of the male biological sex,” the bill states. “No school shall permit a member of the male biological sex to use a student restroom locker room, changing room, or shower room that has been designated by the school for the exclusive use of the female biological sex.”
The legislation also prohibits “multi-occupancy facilit(ies)” that are “nongendered” or “multigendered.” This refers to locker rooms, bathrooms, and changing facilities. The law allows for a “family facility,” such as one that parents with children or individuals with special needs and an aide might use.
The law also forbids schools from putting girls in boys’ rooms for “overnight accommodations,” such as field trips. A Colorado school district is being sued for putting a gender-confused male student in the same bed as a female student on an overnight trip.
A similar law concerning bathrooms and locker rooms applies to all “institution(s) of higher education.”
The bill passed on party lines, with Republicans in both chambers voting to protect girls from gender-confused men. Democrats, meanwhile, opposed the protections.
Catholic state Senator Jerry Cirino is the main sponsor of the bill. He told WKYC Channel 3 that the bill returns schools to “the way it was” and reestablishes the “safer environment” for students.
“I don’t want my granddaughters who are involved in sports having to be anxious about, worried by, and intimidated … by men coming in or boys coming in (to their locker rooms and bathrooms),” Cirino told the news outlet.
“It protects our children and grandchildren in private spaces where they are most vulnerable,” Cirino also said, according to ABC News. “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 student.”
The Center for Christian Virtue praised the legislation’s passage.
“Today is a huge victory for children and families in Ohio. Amended SB104 is common-sense legislation that will guarantee the only people entering young ladies’ private spaces are female, not men claiming to be female,” policy director David Mahan stated in a news release.
“We call on Governor DeWine to sign SB104 into law to protect the privacy of women and young girls,” Mahan stated.
Meg Kilgannon of the Family Research Council also urged DeWine to sign the law. “The women of Ohio and women everywhere deserve to know that their bathrooms and locker rooms are just that — for women and girls and the young children they care for,” she told the Washington Stand.
Meanwhile, the far-left ACLU wants DeWine to veto the bill and allow men to continue to use girls’ bathrooms based on their so-called “gender identity.”
“The governor has said he’s inclined to sign the bill, but will conduct a legal review first,” the Washington Times reported. However, Gov. DeWine’s administration has already reviewed the legal landscape surrounding men using girls’ locker rooms and other private spaces.
State Attorney General Dave Yost affirmed in June 2023 there is no state or federal right for a male to use a girls’ bathroom, as LifeSiteNews previously reported.
“Providing separate bathrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms for the separate sexes does not violate the right that (state law) confers,” Yost wrote. “To the contrary, separating the sexes in these private areas helps ensure that no one is, on the basis of sex, denied the full enjoyment of public accommodations.”