People often ask me why I had to fight so hard to protect children from genital mutilation in Ohio. As it turns out, shutting down pediatric sex change clinics funded by the sales of sex toys is a little more complicated than I thought it would be in a Republican dominated state. [1][2][3] What I thought could be accomplished in three months took three years.
Let me walk you back to my Christmas vacation in 2023 and give you the inside story. I was visiting my mother in Indiana and about to grab my first cup of coffee in the morning when my phone rang. I wasn’t surprised to see the governor’s name on my caller ID. December 29 was the last day he had to sign House Bill 68. This legislation contained both The Saving Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act and the Save Women’s Sports Act.
“Good morning, Governor,” I said as cheerfully as one can before coffee. I placed him on speaker as my mom rounded the corner, hoping to catch some good news. Did I mention it was also my birthday?
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“Happy Birthday, Gary,” the governor greeted me. “I’m sorry to call so early but I wanted to let you know that I’m going to veto your bill.”
Governor DeWine’s veto stung but was not unexpected. The administration asked for last-minute concessions on behalf of the children’s hospitals. The governor wanted to allow the puberty blockers and opposite sex hormones for “extreme cases.”
I asked them to define extreme cases. Because every parent who dares to hesitate is asked, “Would you rather have a living son or a dead daughter?”
I had already declined this compromise in the house on multiple occasions, and I wasn’t about to back down now. When I informed the administration that this was non-negotiable, I was advised that the governor would veto the bill.
During his campaign for governor, his team touted, “As Ohio Attorney General, Mike DeWine joined nine other states challenging the Obama Department of Education’s guidance letter instructing schools to allow students to use restrooms inconsistent with their biological sex. Together they argued that sex is determined by one’s anatomy and genes rather than by ‘gender identity.’”
Yet every time I asked for input from the governor, I got the same vague response. “The governor is concerned about protecting children.”
Meanwhile, the bill was moving much slower than I had hoped or anticipated. Many legislators were unfamiliar with the issue and found it difficult to believe that hospitals and clinics were actually performing sex change procedures on minors. This sounded too extreme. It felt safer to trust the lobbyists who knew rather than a pastor who had not yet earned his stripes in the legislature. Why trust a pastor when you can trust the professionals?
I can’t blame them. It truly is unbelievable.
Well-funded lobbyists insisted that there was “nothing to see here.” Committee members were pressed not to believe my claims. Fortunately, I had receipts. Surgical clinics in Ohio were openly advertising their work, and families who had been victimized were testifying. Chloe Cole made her first public appearance. We had social media posts from a private Facebook group moderated by the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Online webinars produced by the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital were readily available.
As the 134th General Assembly was about to close, it started to become clear that we didn’t have the time necessary to complete the task before starting over again. I introduced a watered-down substitute bill that permitted the use of puberty blockers and opposite sex hormones after two years of counseling and only if they did not have certain long-term, irreversible side effects. After all, the opponents claimed that it was all reversible and assured us that there was no long-term damage being done.
They took the bait. The first ones to testify against the substitute bill were the children’s hospitals. Under these conditions, they protested that they would not be able to perform any of these procedures on minors. That was the point I had been trying to prove all along, and they did it for me. Rather than pass a weakened bill, I delayed until the next General Assembly and reintroduced the strongest version of the bill.
Our co-sponsor list nearly doubled from 22 to almost 40. Momentum was shifting as the caucus and community were educated. Twenty more states had taken up the issue. Media coverage was exploding, and momentum began shifting in our direction, but the fight to protect children still wasn’t over.
More moderate but powerful legislators knew that politically, we had to do something, but they didn’t want to do everything necessary to genuinely protect children. A substitute bill had been drafted in collaboration with the children’s hospitals without my input. Carefully worded descriptions were being altered. The weakened provisions permitting puberty blockers and opposite sex hormones were reintroduced. They were willing to prohibit surgeries, knowing that a child who had been under the influence of hormonal interventions was statistically likely to pursue surgery at the age of 18.
I fought back and assured them that this substitute bill would not stand. I insisted that the puberty blockers and hormones were the core part of this bill. They countered that it was the surgeries. It only took two words to make my point: Try me. The essential components of the bill stayed intact.
After much grandstanding by Democrats, we passed the bill. The Senate soon followed. Then the governor asked for his aforementioned concessions.
Before the governor finished the first sentence in the press conference announcing his veto, my colleagues began texting. They were ready to jump in their cars at that moment to return to Columbus for an override. Every statewide elected leader publicly stated that the legislature should override the governor’s veto. Even his own Lieutenant Governor, Jon Husted, stated that House Bill 68 should become law.
On January 10, 2024, the Ohio House voted to overturn the governor’s veto by one more vote than the bill passed with the first time. The Ohio Senate soon followed. My colleagues came through.
As anticipated, the SAFE Act was challenged in court by the Ohio ACLU. While the Supreme Court’s decision on Skrmetti will be influential, we are being challenged based on the Ohio Constitution’s 2011 provision intended to combat the Affordable Care Act. The ACLU argues that House Bill 68 prevents access to a specific type of healthcare. However, Justice Clarence Thomas noted in his opinion on Skrmetti that we should be skeptical of that “sanitized description.” In my override speech, I was reminded by colleagues that “Gender Affirming Care” is a superstition, not a science. It is not healthcare.
Only a nationwide policy will protect all children everywhere within our borders. That is why I am encouraged to see movement at the Federal Trade Commission. I recently attended their workshop on “Gender Affirming Care.” Listening to professionals, parents, victims, attorneys and whistleblowers confirmed everything in my research. This industry can only exist through manipulation and deception.
The science doesn’t care about your religion, your orientation, or your political classification. It is impossible to change one’s sex. Gender cannot be divorced from sex. Attempts to mimic the opposite sex through hormonal and surgical intervention are inherently dangerous and produce adverse health experiences. The cover provided by the American Psychological Association, American Academy of Pediatrics and other associations is deceptive and dangerous. Ignoring the science, these agencies have leaned into activism and the expense of accuracy and deserve to be called out for their deceptive practices.
As the fight continues, we must remember that the truth cannot be concealed for long. Truth always rises to the top, and the truth is what makes us free.
[2] https://chriscicchinelli.com/about/.
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-jOCEK_BBQ.
Gary Click is currently serving his third term in the Ohio House of Representatives. He represents the 88th House District, which encompasses all of Sandusky and Seneca Counties.
