Ohio Lawmakers Pass Law Protecting Children From Sex-Change Procedures, Upholding Fairness in Women’s Sports

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On Wednesday lawmakers in Ohio overwhelmingly passed a measure upholding fairness in women’s sports and protecting children from sex-change procedures.

Ohio’s measure — H.B. 68 — is similar to two laws Arkansas passed in 2021.

The bill prohibits doctors in Ohio from giving a child puberty blockers or performing a sex-change surgery on a child.

H.B. 68 also prevents biological males from competing against women in women’s athletics at public schools as well as colleges and universities.

In 2021, lawmakers in Arkansas overwhelmingly passed the Save Adolescents From Experimentation (SAFE) Act and the Save Women’s Sports Act.

The SAFE Act is a good law that prevents doctors in Arkansas from performing sex-change surgeries on children or giving them puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones. 

Unfortunately, the SAFE Act has been tied up in court for more than two years, and a federal judge in Little Rock has blocked the state from enforcing the law.

Arkansas Attorney General’s Office has noted that federal appeals courts have allowed similar laws protecting children from gender-transition procedures to go into effect in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Alabama.

Sex-change surgeries and procedures can leave children sterilized and scarred for life.

Researchers do not know the long term effects puberty-blockers and cross-sex hormones can have on kids. That is why many experts agree that subjecting children to sex-change procedures is experimental, at best.

Not long after Arkansas passed the SAFE Act, a major hospital in Sweden announced that it would no longer give puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to kids, and last year the U.S. Food and Drug Administration added a warning label to puberty blockers in America after biological girls developed swelling in the brain.

In 2021 Arkansas also passed Act 461 of 2021 by Sen. Missy Irvin (R — Mountain View) and Rep. Sonia Barker (R — Smackover) protecting fairness in women’s sports at school by preventing male student athletes from competing against girls in women’s athletics.

This good law is in effect in Arkansas.

Over the past few years we have seen biological males dominate women’s athletics in some parts of the country.

For example, in 2019 Rachel McKinnon — a biological male who claims to be female — won the female Cycling World Championship.

More recently, biologically male athlete Lia Thomas shattered women’s swimming records and was even nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year.

Female powerlifter April Hutchinson recently announced she faces a two-year ban from the Canadian Powerlifting Union for expressing concerns about males dominating against female athletes in powerlifting events.

Letting men compete in women’s sports reverses 50 years of advancements for women and effectively erases women’s athletics.

It hampers girls’ abilities to compete for athletic scholarships, and it hurts their professional opportunities as adults. In some sports, it can even be dangerous.

Interestingly, public opinion is shifting on this issue, with more Americans saying it’s morally wrong to change genders and believe that athletes ought to compete according to their biological sex rather than their gender identity.

It’s good to see states like Ohio taking steps to protect children and preserve fairness in women’s sports.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Group Raises $2,300 to Place Abortion Amendment on Arkansas Ballot

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On Friday the group working to place an abortion amendment on the 2024 ballot in Arkansas filed reports with the state Ethics Commission showing it has received $2,341 in donations.

Last month Arkansans for Limited Government asked Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office to certify the popular name and ballot title of an amendment permanently enshrining abortion in the Arkansas Constitution.

The A.G.’s team rejected the amendment’s language, citing multiple ambiguities in the measure’s wording.

If approved, this amendment would write abortion into the Arkansas Constitution and erase decades of good, pro-life laws.

The amendment’s wording also could permit abortion in Arkansas through all nine months of pregnancy — including late term abortion and partial-birth abortion. Most Americans oppose these abortion procedures, but this amendment could give them constitutional protection in Arkansas.

The amendment also would prevent Arkansas law from requiring abortionists to have parental consent before performing an abortion on an underage girl. Parental consent laws for abortion help protect children from trafficking and exploitation. Repealing those laws puts underage girls at risk.

The proposed abortion amendment’s wording is available here.

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Governor Sanders Asks A.G. to Investigate Two Companies in Arkansas with Ties to China

China

The following is a press release from Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.— Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ Administration today alerted Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office of two companies that may be in violation of Act 636, which prohibits foreign-party-controlled businesses from owning Arkansas land.

“China is a hostile foreign adversary and under my administration, we will follow the law and not allow companies controlled by the Chinese Communist Party to buy up and exploit Arkansas land,” said Governor Sanders.

As part of Secretary Wes Ward’s ongoing investigations, the Department of Agriculture discovered that two companies, Risever Machinery LLC in Craighead County and Jones Digital LLC near the City of DeWitt, may have significant ties to China. Jones Digital LLC may also have significant ownership interest in digital asset and crypto-mining operations in other parts of the state under different names.

In October, Governor Sanders became the first governor in the country to kick a Chinese state-owned company off American farmland. Her administration is forcing Syngenta to sell its land in Craighead County and received a $280,000 fine from the company.

Secretary Ward’s letter on Risever Machinery LLC in Craighead County is below:

Attorney General Griffin,

During the 2023 Regular Session of the Arkansas General Assembly the state legislature passed Act 636 which amends the law concerning ownership and possession of real property; the law had an effective date of August 1, 2023.  Act 636 provides that a “prohibited foreign-party controlled business” shall not acquire by grant, purchase, devise, descent, or otherwise any interest in public or private land in this state.  

In accordance with Act 636, the Arkansas Department of Agriculture is directed to collect and analyze information concerning the unlawful sale or possession of agricultural land by prohibited foreign parties and report violations to the Arkansas Attorney General. 

Since the passage of Act 636, one entity that has come to the attention of the Department is Risever Machinery LLC which has a facility in Craighead County.  A review of Risever Machinery LLC’s ownership indicates that the entity has significant ties to China.  

As of the date of this letter, China continues to be a country subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and is subject to the prohibitions of Act 636.  

The Arkansas Department of Agriculture believes that Risever Machinery LLC may be operating in violation of Act 636.  As a result, we are reporting the potential violations to your office and requesting that you utilize the authority granted under A.C.A. 18-11-704(c)(2) to determine if a violation of Act 636 has in fact occurred, and if so, commence appropriate legal action.   

Respectfully,

Wesley W. Ward
Secretary of Agriculture

Secretary Ward’s letter on Jones Digital LLC near the City of DeWitt is below:

Attorney General Griffin,

During the 2023 Regular Session of the Arkansas General Assembly the state legislature passed Act 636 which amends the law concerning ownership and possession of real property; the law had an effective date of August 1, 2023.  Act 636 provides that a “prohibited foreign-party controlled business” shall not acquire by grant, purchase, devise, descent, or otherwise any interest in public or private land in this state.

In accordance with Act 636, the Arkansas Department of Agriculture is directed to collect and analyze information concerning the unlawful sale or possession of agricultural land by prohibited foreign parties and report violations to the Arkansas Attorney General. 

Throughout the course of this year there have been a growing number of entities in the process of creating digital asset or crypto-mining operations across the state of Arkansas.  One of these facilities is located on agricultural land near the city of DeWitt and is operated by Jones Digital LLC. A review of Jones Digital’s ownership indicates that the entity may have significant ties to China.  Further, it is believed that the individuals or entities involved in the ownership of Jones Digital LLC may also have significant ownership interest in other digital asset or crypto-mining operations in other parts of the state under different names. 

As of the date of this letter, China continues to be a country subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and is subject to the prohibitions of Act 636.  

The Arkansas Department of Agriculture believes that Jones Digital LLC and potentially other similarly situated digital asset or crypto-mining operations may be operating in violation of Act 636.  As a result, we are reporting the potential violations to your office and requesting that you utilize the authority granted under A.C.A. 18-11-704(c)(2) to determine if a violation of Act 636 has in fact occurred, and if so, commence appropriate legal action.   

Respectfully,

Wesley W. Ward
Secretary of Agriculture

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