Rep. Liston: Ohio should not be in the business of bullying transgender children

COLUMBUS- State Rep. Beth Liston (D-Dublin) issued the following statement in response to Wednesday’s meeting of the House Families, Aging, and Human Services Committee in which House Bill (HB) 454 had its second hearing. HB 454 would ban gender affirming care for minors in Ohio and would require teachers, school counselors and other school staff to break confidentiality requirements with vulnerable LBGTQ+ children.

“Today’s hearing brought in out-of-state hate groups with an extreme agenda to bully our kids. Vulnerable children in Ohio should have the freedom to access evidence-based healthcare and should not be used as pawns by politicians,” said Rep. Liston. 

The committee heard proponent testimony from several out-of-state advocates representing special interest groups that travel across the country to spread their extreme beliefs. These groups included Alliance Defending Freedom and American College of Pediatrics, both of whom have been identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as hate groups for their anti-LGBTQ agenda.

Watch the committee meeting here.