Ohio State Building. (Photo: David DeWitt, Ohio Capital Journal.)
Republican lawmakers in Ohio have introduced legislation that would penalize state agencies and local governments for overly supporting LGBTQ+ youth.
Supporters of the bill argue that municipalities are too strict towards those who do not accept transgender and non-binary identities.
Among a range of provisions, conversion therapy will be reinstated where it has been banned, teachers may not be able to utilize students’ preferred pronouns, and parents will not be able to lose custody of their child for refusing to support their child’s gender identity.
“State institutions, government institutions, cannot promote this woke ideology,” state Rep. Gary Click, R-Vickery, said in an interview Tuesday.
Click believes that government agencies are overly affirming of LGBTQ+ children, which he believes hurts parents.
He and state Rep. Josh Williams, R-Sylvania Township, introduced a 55-page bill that would, among other things, change how agencies can contact transgender children.
“We will say in Ohio that treating a child normally and assuring him that his son is his son and his daughter is his daughter is not a threat,” Click said.
Ohio House Bill 693 prevents agencies from penalizing parents for failing to support their child’s LGBTQ+ gender identity.
The bill, aimed specifically at Cuyahoga County, also limits the support that government services can provide to people who identify as LGBTQ+.
Click stated that the county’s utilize of gender identity and expression policies regarding sexual orientation actively screens children for their gender orientation, even without their voluntary consent.
It’s unclear if the county is still using it, as their previous LGBTQ+ policy titled “Affirm Me” expired in 2025.
At least the previous rule would have compiled data based on these statistics, which Click said should not have been allowed. He also recalled how the district implemented a re-education program for parents.
“Educate parents that sexual orientation and gender identity are not a choice and that they have done nothing for their child to become LGBTQ+,” Affirm Me’s policy states.
The Click Act also prevents a parent from losing custody if they refuse to confirm their child’s gender identity.
Moreover, it prohibits agencies from prohibiting the placement of children in foster homes that do not accept transgender identities.
Would you like to get in touch?
Have a news tip?
Some LGBTQ+ advocates have previously mentioned that it could be hazardous for the child. Click responded that it would only be hazardous if actual harassment occurred.
“There are always laws against violence, so if a parent becomes aggressive, physical, maybe even verbal, there are different things and there are laws against that,” Click said.
“This bill states that just because you are affirming a child’s natural gender, it is not molestation.”
Another provision in the bill would overturn more than a dozen statewide conversion therapy bans by changing the counseling framework to “reverse” a transgender person as not legally recognized for conversion therapy.
“It’s not conversion therapy that helps children discover their identity and who they biologically are,” Click said.
Cuyahoga County responded to Click’s allegations, and its spokeswoman, Jennifer Ciaccia, argued against conversion therapy.
“In September 2025, Cuyahoga County became the first county in Ohio to ban conversion therapy, a hateful, misleading and dangerous practice discredited by more than 28 major medical organizations. We remain committed to this policy and the protections it affords children and families in our community,” Ciaccia said.
“Cuyahoga County is aware of the provisions introduced today in HB 693 and is currently reviewing them to assess their potential impact on our operations and residents.”
In addition to Cuyahoga County, cities including Cleveland, Akron, Columbus and Cincinnati have banned all forms of conversion therapy.
The bill will also reach public school classrooms.
The bill’s provisions would prohibit disciplining teachers for not using students’ preferred pronouns. The laws could potentially prevent teachers from using students’ preferred pronouns.
Melissa Cropper, Ohio Federation of Teachers, rejected the decision.
“When a child walks into the classroom, the teacher doesn’t think that that’s a transgender student, that’s an LGBTQ+ student, or anything else about that student,” Cropper said. “What they see is someone’s future.”
Cropper is concerned about the bill and says schools are being drawn into a culture war waged by Republicans that only harms vulnerable children.
“It is an absolute travesty that we have politicians who are attacking some of our most vulnerable students, who are using our teachers to attack those students and using that to further their own political agendas and their own political careers, instead of thinking about what is best for our students, what is best for our public education system, what is best for our communities and what is best for us as people,” Cropper said.
During the last General Assembly, lawmakers passed Ohio House Bill 8, which requires schools to notify parents if a child identifies as LGBTQ+ and allows parents to opt out of so-called “sexual” content.
“It’s an attack on autonomy. It’s an attack on local control. It’s an attack on professionalism,” Cropper added.
“It’s disrespectful to teachers who, as I said earlier, strive to give every student what they need to be successful.”
The legislation also provides a mechanism to extract state funds from any state or local government that fails to comply with the act.
Click has devoted much of his time in the Legislature to advocacy for LGBTQ+ people.
Previously sponsored Ohio House Bill 68current laws that prevent LGBTQ+ minors from accessing gender-affirming care such as hormone blocking medications, hormone replacement therapy (HRT), and certain mental health services.
It also prohibits transgender athletes from participating in middle school, high school or college athletics on teams consistent with their identity.
Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau X AND Facebook.
This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and are published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication on other news outlets because it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.
YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.
