Rep. Click has spoken about how he researched and studied HB 68 for two years. He has either failed to read the studies he is using in his evidence or has chosen to mislead people by leaving out any information that does not support the narrative he has suggested.

Decisions like these have real impacts on peoples lives. Ignoring evidence from studies and leaving out things that do not match his narrative is dangerous and also wrong. It’s misleading to the other legislators and the public. If you want to read studies, this page is a good resource.

Rep. Gary Click uses the fact that transgender individuals have a higher rate of suicide than the general population as a weapon against the transgender community. He is also stating this based on the Swedish Study that looked at individuals who transitioned in Sweden between 1973-2003.

Rep. Gary Click has stated in testimony and written evidence that the suicide risk for individuals who transition is 19 times higher than the general population. This is true on a whole from the study. But if you look at the groups of people based on the year they transitioned. Individuals who transitioned from 1989-2003 did not have an elevated risk.

In line with the increased mortality from suicide, sex-reassigned individuals were also at a higher risk for suicide attempts, though this was not statistically significant for the time period 1989–2003.

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/figure?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0016885.t002

There was no “statistically significant” increase in mortality from suicide in the group from 1989-2003. The study broke the groups up from 1973-2003 and the more recent the transition, the better the results were. There are several reasons that are suggested for this. Improvements in healthcare being one. The ability to treat comorbidities and improved mental healthcare. It is not hard to understand how medical care would improve over time. Another reason is probably less social stigma targeted at transgender individuals.

Rep. Click uses another Swedish study in his documentation. Instead of referencing the studies, Rep. Click uses an opinion article about the studies as a reference. The study itself does not stop gender care for youth and adolescents.

Young people suffering from gender dysphoria need to be promptly assessed and offered appropriate treatment measures, based on health care needs assessments. Good psychosocial care is essential. The patient group is heterogeneous and psychosocial care needs to clearly include young people with a non-binary gender identity. Gender-affirming treatments need to be offered when these are deemed indicated.

https://www.socialstyrelsen.se/globalassets/sharepoint-dokument/artikelkatalog/kunskapsstod/2023-1-8330.pdf (paragraph 3)

The study recommends prompt assessment and appropriate treatment. The study “recommends that these treatments be provided in the context of research.” Puberty blockers and hormone therapy can be administered in “exceptional cases”. This means that treatments need to be performed in the context of research. This does not mean treatment is not being done. This means that the treatment is being done with the goal of helping the individual and also learning more about the treatments, outcomes, and sharing info with other agencies and groups.

The study also contradicts Rep. Click’s statements concerning mental health therapy. HB 68 says that parental differences in deciding to allow children access to gender affirming healthcare should not be considered when resolving custody disputes. But the study Rep. Click uses states that youth and adolescent should be offered “psychosocial support for unconditional exploration of gender identity during the diagnostic assessment.” This states that the child should be allowed to explore their gender identity with no conditions.

Re. Click will pick and choose the parts of a study and represent it as good data and information. But then not endorse any part of it that does not follow his narrative.

Rep. Click does not believe transgender care is real. He has called it a “superstitious religious belief”. He does no believe transgender people should be treated equally in society. Rep. Click says that HB 68 is not intended to be hateful, discriminate or target transgender youth. Then in the next paragraph, he says “Nevertheless…” and states several examples of organizations and companies attempting to help reduce stereotypes and reduce negative attitudes towards transgender individuals. These are the same individuals Rep. Click says must be “loved, respected, and treated with kindness”. Rep. Click brings up examples of transgender people being treated with love, respect, and kindness in a document intended to remove their access to healthcare.

He has complained that organizations have attempted to remove stigmas and help make transgender individuals feel “normal”. His sermons have attacked LGBTQ+ people as tools of the devil to undermine society. He does not care for or respect any LGBTQ+ individual. He can say other countries are stopping gender care for minors, or pulling back. But the reality is they are wanting to better serve their citizens. Educating, understanding, and improving gender care is their goal. Rep. Gary Click’s goal is to make it illegal and to remove the input of medical associations and professionals. This will setup Ohio to be behind in transgender care for years.