Republican legislators in Ohio have added anti-LGBTQ+ provisions to its 2025 budget that would officially recognize only two sexes, ban Pride flags from government buildings, and restrict the availability of LGBTQ+ books in public libraries, local media report.
One of the provisions targets gender identity by declaring the state will only recognize the binary male and female sexes for official government documents and policies, declaring the two “sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.”
Democrat state Rep. Rose Sweeney questioned both the “continuous attack” on the LGBTQ+ community in Ohio as well as the attempt to enact de facto legislation without meaningful debate and an up-or-down vote on the proposals.
“I would ask why they feel the need to put this into the state budget,” Sweeney said of the anti-LGBTQ+ provisions, Cleveland.com reports. “They should do a stand-alone bill and have people be able to come and testify for or against that piece of legislation.”
Brian Stewart, chair of the House Finance Committee, described the provision recognizing only two sexes as a “common sense” measure.
“It conforms with federal law, and it’s common sense,” Rep. Brian Stewart told reporters on Tuesday, the Columbus Dispatch reports. “We codify that in the law and kind of put this behind us. It’s like saying the world is round instead of flat.”
He added that if passed, the provisions would become the “overriding standard” for the state.
Other provisions would reportedly mirror similar laws passed in other states or executive orders issued by Pres. Donald Trump. One would define gender identity as a “subjective sense of self, disconnected from biological reality,” while another would restrict the placement of LGBTQ-themed books in public libraries to ensure they are not seen or checked out by youth. Another provision would ban non-approved flags like the Pride flag.
The provisions come in response to the legislative response to Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s proposed $61 billion 2025-2026 budget. Republican lawmakers slashed a billion from the budget, cutting a proposed child tax credit funded by a tax on cigarettes.
“There are no tax increases in this budget,” Stewart said, the Ohio Capital Journal reports. “We are not raising taxes on sports betting, marijuana, or tobacco products.
While Republicans opposed new taxes in the budgets, they did approve selling bonds to provide $400 million to the Cleveland Browns NFL football franchise to build a new domed stadium.
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