Rep. Gary Click, a Baptist pastor, submitted legislation to introduce March 12 as Detrans Awareness Day. The announcement has drawn criticism from Ken Schneck, the editor of The Buckeye Flame, an LGBTQ+ news outlet.
Detrans Awareness Day
According to Schneck, Mother Jones revealed the existence of a secret working group comprised of conservative policymakers who have been collaborating to promote anti-trans laws throughout the United States.
Elisa Rae Shupe, a transwoman and former detransition activist, leaked over 2,600 pages of emails that exposed the clandestine group's activities.
Shupe's detransition journey played a significant role in the conservative strategy to ban gender-affirming care nationwide, as explained in a recent profile by Xtra.
One of the leaders of the anti-trans movement expressed the belief that detransitioners, parents, and athletes, rather than radical feminists, would be the ones to bring about change and enact these restrictive policies, which Shupe received in a leaked email.
Schneck reported that Shupe claimed that the organizations utilizing her story to advance their conservative agenda have now abandoned her.
In the Xtra article, Shupe also expressed apprehension about Chloe Cole.
Cole is a prominent figure in detransition circles who is currently suing a medical group and its doctors. This is for performing what she described as a "mutilating, mimicry sex change experiment" on her when she was 18 years old.
Shupe remarked that Cole reminds her of herself at a younger age and is concerned about what will happen to her when the public's attention shifts away from her case.
According to Schneck, Cole is currently being paid to travel around the United States and give testimony in support of banning gender-affirming care.
In 2022, she first testified in front of the Ohio state legislature as a guest of Click.
Click, who recently interviewed Cole for a YouTube video announcing his support for Detrans Awareness Day, has introduced HB 113 to designate March 12 as the day to recognize detransitioning experiences.
According to Schneck, Detrans Awareness Day is supported by anti-LGBTQ+ organizations.
This includes the lobbying arm of Focus on the Family, the Family Policy Alliance, Concerned Women for America, and the Catholic League.
Schneck stated that for Click, the introduction of this bill is just another example of conservative and anti-LGBTQ+ forces imposing their views on the lives of LGBTQ+ Ohioans.
On multiple occasions, Click has stated that the Center for Christian Virtue played a noteworthy part in formulating his legislation to prohibit gender-affirming care.
Schneck stated that the creation of this new observance day appears to be more of the same.
HB 68
HB 68, a bill that aims to prevent gender-affirming care for Ohio's youth, is primarily sponsored by Click.
Although a similar bill, HB 454, failed to make it out of committee the previous year, Click has stated that HB 68 is a priority for Ohio Republicans who hold the supermajority in the Ohio House.
According to Schneck, the concept of detransitioning, which involves reversing or stopping gender transition, including changes in appearance or medical treatment, is Click’s core argument in favor of HB 68.
Schneck then stated that during a press conference held in February to introduce the bill, Click claimed that between 85% to 95% of trans youth will eventually grow out of their feelings.
However, recent research, as stated by Erin Reed, contradicts Click's arguments about detransitioning rates among trans youth.
According to Reed, a recent study in Pediatrics, which used modern criteria, showed that 97.5% of trans youth continued to identify as trans after a 5-year follow-up.
However, Click's HB 68 aims to forcibly detransition youth in Ohio by outlawing gender-affirming care.
According to Schneck, the bill would give youth currently taking hormones only 180 days to stop and prohibits healthcare providers from making referrals to support in other states.
Schneck stated that it is unclear if HB 113, which designates Detrans Awareness Day, will be debated anytime soon.
However, overall, the new LGBTQ-related observance is not a cause for celebration, as Click's bill would directly harm trans youth and prohibit access to vital healthcare.
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