Ohio House Bill 68
LOVEboldly's Stance: OPPOSE
Download LOVEboldly's Congregational Resource for HB68.
(This is a great resource to include in your bulletin or other printed material.)
Why should Christians care about Ohio HB68?
Summary - HB68
HB68 is a substitute bill replacing the original HB68 and HB6. It was passed by the Ohio General Assembly; vetoed by Governor DeWine; and subsequently had its veto overrode. HB68 is set to take effect on April 24, 2024. Should that happen, tt would ban gender-affirming care for Transgender youth and restrict Trans girls/young women from participating on female teams in K-12 and collegiate athletics.
Status of the Bill
(as of April 8, 2024)
HB68 was combined with HB6 (ban on transgender athletes in women's sports). The new substitute bill was designated HB68 and passed the House on June 21, 2023. HB68 was passed by the Senate on December 13, 2023, with the House concurring to the Senate's changes the same day. Governor DeWine vetoed HB68 on December 29, 2023. On January 10, 2024, the House voted to override Governor DeWine's veto. The Senate concurred with the House on January 24, 2024, overriding Governor DeWine's veto. HB68 is now set to go into effect on April 23, 2024.
On March 26, 2024, the ACLU of Ohio, in conjunction with the American Civil Liberties Union and global law firm Goodwin, filed suit against the State of Ohio, questioning the constitutionality of HB68.
Take Action
1. Donate to the TransOhio Emergency Fund to help cover the costs of families seeking out-of-state care for their children.
2. Promote and publicize the ACLU of Ohio lawsuit.
3. Check in with your Transgender friends and family. The Trans community is under an all out siege and needs our support more than ever.
Congregational Action*
1. Members of your congregation can participate in all the actions above.
2. Print copies of our "Congregational Resource - HB68" (available above) and put them in your bulletins or with other print material.
3. If your congregation is not yet a Church Partner with LOVEboldly consider becoming a partner.
4. Encourage your members to donate to LOVEboldly or one of our strategic partners including Equality Ohio, TransOhio, Trans Allies of Ohio, Honesty for Ohio Education, Faith in Public Life, and the ACLU of Ohio.
Other Resources Regarding Ohio HB 68
*Legal Stuff
We're not lawyers and nothing we say should be taken as legal advice. Please consult your congregational and denominational legal counsel for legal advice. That said, we know congregations sometimes wonder what they can and cannot do when it comes to advocacy.
Like LOVEboldly, most churches are 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations and as such are tax exempt.
DO - Churches and other 501(c)(3) nonprofits can engage in issue-based advocacy. This means we can publicly support or oppose policies, bills, regulations, and other governmental actions. In most cases our support or opposition is in the form of educating people and then arguing why people should support or oppose a particular issue.
DON'T - Churches and other 501(c)(3) organizations cannot engage in partisan politics. We can neither endorse particular politicians nor can we lobby politicians or government officials. We can hold nonpartisan events such as a voter registration drive. We all have examples of churches behaving badly: pastors endorsing candidates from the pulpit, sermons demonizing other candidates, and many more. Don't model their behavior.