Latest news with #HB172
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Mental health service to minors without parental consent banned under Ohio bill
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A leading advocacy group said a new Ohio bill to prohibit mental health service to minors without parental consent would stifle youth experiencing abuse at home and prematurely 'out' LGBTQ+ teens. House Bill 172 was introduced at the Ohio Statehouse in March by Rep. Johnathan Newman (R-Troy) and would ban a mental health professional from treating a minor who 'presents for the diagnosis or treatment of a gender-related condition' without first obtaining consent from a least one parent or guardian. Columbus City Schools reverts to birth names for transgender students 'The general assembly maintains that a parent has a fundamental right to make decisions concerning the upbringing and care of the parent's child,' the bill states. Newman's bill also reiterates regulations set by Ohio's incoming 'Parents' Bill of Rights' law, including a provision requiring schools to provide parents the opportunity to review instructional material that includes 'sexuality content.' A school is also required to notify a parent of a student's change in counseling services, emotional or physical health, or well-being. Watch a previous NBC4 report on the Parents' Bill of Rights in the video player above. However, Equality Ohio argues both measures will cut off 'a crucial lifeline' for LGBTQ+ youth who live in unsupportive homes and confide in their therapist or school counselor. The organization also said HB 172 could prevent all young people, not just those in the LGBTQ+ community, from speaking with a counselor, even in cases of abuse. Dwayne Steward, Equality Ohio's executive director, said HB 172 continues the Ohio Statehouse's trend of 'anti-LGBTQ+' legislation and that the measure would force youth out of the closet 'in very, very dangerous situations where they're already experiencing crisis.' 'The bill would remove the confidentiality of a trans student who was experiencing mental health needs, and it could delay or keep a child from going and getting the mental health care that they need,' said Steward. 'It's extremely dangerous, and another way in which our legislature is failing trans students.' Olentangy schools defends LGBTQ+ anti-bullying policies in federal court Steward pointed to a national crisis hotline that said it received a significant increase in calls from LGBTQ+ youth in Ohio within hours after Gov. Mike DeWine signed the Parents' Bill of Rights into law in January. The executive director said trans youth recognize that they're 'part of this political conversation,' which is leading to 'increases within the community when it comes to suicide and self-harm.' Still, proponents of the Parents' Bill of Rights and similar measures like Newman's HB 172 assert that the bills ensure parents, and not the government, are making healthcare and education decisions for their children. 'Parents don't sign away their rights when their son or daughter goes to school. They have every right to know what is going on inside the classroom, and any suspected abuse possibly coming from inside the home can be reported to law enforcement,' Senate Republicans spokesperson John Fortney said in a previous statement. 'There is absolutely no reason for information to be concealed.' Aaron Baer, president of the Center for Christian Virtue, celebrated DeWine's signing of the Parents' Bill of Rights and said the legislation protects children by safeguarding parents' rights to make important decisions. Columbus City Schools bars religious release organizations from giving out candy, trinkets 'Whether it's a decision about healthcare, a decision about when a child has a discussion about sexuality, or a decision over whether a child can access a religious released time program like LifeWise Academy, HB 8 puts parents back in control,' Baer said. HB 172 has been referred to the Ohio House Health and Human Services Committee, where it could receive hearings open for public testimony. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Governor lets gun-free zones repeal become law without his signature
CHEYENNE — Gov. Mark Gordon announced late Thursday that he will let House Bill 172, 'Repeal gun free zones and preemption amendments,' go into law without his signature, while calling it a 'legislative power grab.' In a letter to House Speaker Chip Neiman, R-Hulett, the governor reiterated his support for the repeal of gun-free zones in Wyoming, but expressed frustration that 'Gun-free zones are not repealed — they are now determined exclusively by the legislature.' 'Elections are impactful, and I recognize the overwhelming majority of this legislature opted to drop a political bomb,' Gordon wrote in his letter. 'The final outcome of this legislation is not in doubt. It will become law.' He also reminded Neiman that he vetoed a 'remarkably similar bill' at the end of last year's budget session. As he did so, he noted that he believes each government entity should get to decide whether to allow firearms in their public spaces. 'Reflecting this legislature's lackadaisical effort to openly debate and work on this legislation before sending it to my desk, it is tempting to copy and return the same veto letter,' Gordon wrote. 'Compare that effort to the work done locally from the time of my veto letter, when only four school districts had firearm carry policies, to today, when 60% of school districts (according to the Wyoming Association of School Administrators), every single community college, and the University of Wyoming heeded my call to action and took up the debate.' He noted that a handful of legislators tried to pass amendments to HB 172, recognizing that local process and grandfathering in those local decisions. 'Such a lack of regard for the principle of 'government closest to the people' so fundamental to our Republic is stunning,' Gordon wrote. He later added, 'I am left to imagine this legislative session was never about 'self-defense' or a common-sense effort to extend carry rights. More to the point, it was always about the legislature grabbing power.' Gordon signed several bills into law Thursday, including House Bill 42, 'Regulation of surgical abortions,' which 'adds additional safety requirements to surgical abortion facilities in Wyoming while the state's abortion prohibition is being considered by the Wyoming Supreme Court,' according to a news release from his office. He also signed Senate File 114, 'Missing persons-reporting requirement,' which he said provides better guidance and support to law enforcement when responding to missing adults. The bill also clarifies the process of reporting someone missing, and ensures that the state's missing persons database is updated in a timely manner, increasing the likelihood of better outcomes for missing persons, according to the news release. He allowed two other bills to become law without his signature — SF 168, 'Budget reserve account-repeal,' and SF 77, 'Compelled speech is not free speech.' In his letter to Senate President Bo Biteman, R-Ranchester, about the latter, he said it was 'a solution in search of a problem.' Sponsored by Sen. Lynn Hutchings, R-Cheyenne, the bill prohibits the state and other government entities from compelling employees to refer to their colleagues by their preferred pronouns. 'Given that these issues are not prevalent in Wyoming government, I must conclude that this bill, rather than addressing an urgent policy concern, is instead meant to convey a public perspective on gender and the use of preferred pronouns,' Gordon wrote, later adding, 'Law making should be a serious endeavor, not just a means of making political statements.'
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UW students stage 'die-in' outside Governor's office
CHEYENNE — Humming 'Amazing Grace' and lying on the floor outside Gov. Mark Gordon's office, a group of University of Wyoming students hoped to send the chief executive a direct message: Do not repeal Wyoming's gun-free zones. Staged as a 'die-in' protest, students wore white T-shirts splattered with red paint and held signs that read 'I'd rather not be a target,' 'Books > Bullets' and 'I don't feel safe in school.' House Bill 172, 'Repeal gun free zones and preemption amendments,' passed on third reading Friday in the state Senate. On Monday, Senate President Bo Biteman, R-Ranchester, and Speaker of the House Chip Neiman, R-Hulett, signed the bill, which is now House Enrolled Act 24, heading to Gordon's desk. Students have repeatedly spoken at legislative committee meetings this session about their opposition to HB 172, which would affect the university, as well as Wyoming's K-12 schools and other state-owned facilities. Still, students say they feel they've been largely ignored in the process. 'I was pretty disappointed to see (HB 172) pass with so little debate, with so little consideration for any amendments or the safeguards we'd been asking for,' Associated Students of the University of Wyoming Director of Community and Governmental Affairs Sophia Gomelsky told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle Monday afternoon. 'The fact that it flew through the House so fast is pretty representative of the fact that lawmakers are not listening,' she said. Lying on the floor outside Gordon's office was perhaps their last-ditch effort to be heard. 'We're hoping to snap (lawmakers) back to reality to make them realize they have constituents they took an oath to serve. When we aren't being listened to, we can't just go on as usual, with legislation that is actively putting us in danger,' Gomelsky said. Gordon vetoed a bill very similar to HB 172 in 2024, and many similar measures have failed to become state law over the years. Michael Pearlman, communications director for the governor's office, told the WTE in an email Monday afternoon that Gordon had 'thanked Sophia for exercising her First Amendment rights, and said he would take her comments into consideration.' Gordon is still considering the bill and has until Thursday to act on it, Pearlman said. Gomelsky said the governor did come out of his office Monday to speak with her. 'We have talked about issues that affect students quite a few times, and we talked about the implications of this bill,' she said. 'We are asking for a veto. He vetoed the bill last year. It was a bad idea last year, it is a bad idea this year. It has hardly changed.' UW undergrad Liz Pearson attended the protest, she said, because she believes adding more guns will only increase violence on campus, whether through misfires, suicides or other violence that could become a direct threat to the student body. 'I have actually heard students from where I graduated (Riverton High School) saying they are not going to want to come to UW if this passes. They don't want to come to school where they feel unsafe,' Pearson said. Jaycee Myrtle, a graduate student at UW, said not only does HB 172 threaten students, but many other pieces of legislation moving through the state Capitol has dampened morale at the university. A protest flier for the Monday event included reference to 'legislation that will harm students, including allowing guns in schools and anti-LGBTQ+ bills targeting trans students.' 'I'm hoping that we're heard and listened to, because we are out here being vulnerable … and with DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion programming) being taken away, it just feels so unsafe,' Myrtle said. UW trustees voted not to allow concealed carry; lawmakers discuss making theirs an elected office Last November, the University of Wyoming Board of Trustees met several times, and held a series of public meetings to discuss allowing concealed carry firearms on campus. Ultimately that board, which is appointed by the governor, voted 6-5 on Nov. 22 against allowing concealed carry permit holders to take firearms into campus facilities. Trustee Macey Moore said at the time that the entire process felt like a 'giant disruption' to the university's mission. Concealed carry permit holders are currently allowed to carry on university open space like Prexy's Pasture, but not inside facilities, classrooms and faculty offices. Monday morning, Rep. Rachel Rodriguez Williams, R-Cody, who leads the House Freedom Caucus, a group of hardline Republican lawmakers, presented House Bill 148, 'University of Wyoming governance-elected trustees,' to the Senate Education Committee. Her bill would allow for seven elected UW trustees, which she said would 'provide accountability without upending' the existing trustee structure. 'There is nothing that unifies Wyomingites like our university, regardless of disagreements on politics, religion and or the litany of other things that divide us today. We all love our Wyoming Cowboys,' Rodriguez-Williams told the committee. However, she continued that many in her area are concerned about the leadership at UW and would like a say in how trustees are selected. Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper, pointed out that the Wyoming Constitution clearly states that university trustees 'shall be appointed by the governor.' Gordon's chief of staff, Drew Perkins, said in committee that his office agrees the constitution is 'pretty clear' on the fact that that board shall be appointed. 'How can you construe that language as allowing for elected trustees?' Scott asked. Rodriguez-Williams responded that she had vetted her bill through staff attorneys, who had no concerns, but that other lawmakers were 'entitled to their opinion.' Scott also pointed out that in recent years, the university has 'steadily been getting better and better' at educating undergraduates and in its research areas. Sen. Wendy Schuler, R-Evanston, asked if the bill was brought forward by constituents. 'This was not a constituent bill … I would say it is more district-wide,' Rodriguez-Williams said. 'I can tell you that being a parent of a high school student, and knowing many other parents in my district that provide input to their children as to where they should consider attending college, there is (discussion) of what experience other students have had' on campus that could steer parents away from UW. 'This bill allows for residents of Wyoming from across the state to elect representation on the UW Board of Trustees. It increases representation of the people and provides an opportunity for citizens of Wyoming to have a say in leadership of our beloved university,' she said. But students on Monday said they're the ones living on campus, directly feeling the impact of legislation this session. 'Parents across Wyoming, they're not the ones on campus. It's common for parents to say that university radicalizes kids, but I would not say that is the way it goes. Anyway, we're the ones living there,' Katie Wilford, a UW undergraduate, told the WTE. Pearson said she spoke last fall at least twice before the UW Board of Trustees about a campus-wide gun-free zones repeal, and felt heard in that process. Later, Pearson lay on the marble floor at the Capitol, quietly humming alongside fellow protesters. Gomelsky said there was talk about 'why there was not a permit for' the protest, but that she tried to obtain one and was told by the State Building Commission they do not issue permits for the Capitol lobby during the session. 'I do think the trustees listened to us,' Pearson said. 'I think that we got through to them, and I am really hoping we can get through to (lawmakers) today. But we have realized that doing what we did with the UW trustees was not appealing to (lawmakers), so we are going to try something a little different.' HB 148 passed in a 3-2 vote with a 'do not pass' recommendation out of committee for debate on the Senate floor. Despite a majority of lawmakers saying they did not favor the bill, its fate will be left to the entire body to debate. The fate of the gun-free zones repeal, however, is in the governor's hands. 'It's our lives at stake here,' first-year UW student Illyas Kahn said Monday.
