Openly transgender “Jeopardy!” champion Amy Schneider says she will testify in the Ohio state legislature against a bill that would prohibit transgender youth from receiving gender-affirming care.
“Hi! So, I’ll have lots to say about tonight’s game, but unfortunately a bigger priority has intervened. A childhood friend told me about Ohio SB 454, which would have devastating consequences for trans kids, and I’m flying to Columbus in the morning to do what I can to fight it,” Schneider, who won $1.5 million during her record-setting 40-game streak on “Jeopardy!,” wrote in a tweet on Wednesday.
Schneider said in her Twitter thread that trans children in Ohio would suffer greatly under the state’s proposed legislation, urging her followers to call on their local elected officials to aid the LGBTQ community.
“I’d rather be writing about Jeopardy! But if this bill passes, trans children in Ohio will be denied gender affirming medical care, and that is terrifying,” she said. “So please, if you want more Jeopardy content from me, ask your elected officials to just leave trans people alone.”
“We’re not trying to bother anyone. We’re not a threat,” she concluded. “We just want to, like, post Jeopardy recaps on Twitter or whatever, same as anyone else. Thank you.”
Schneider, who in March visited the White House to mark the Transgender Day of Visibility, plans to participate in the Ohio General Assembly’s second opponent hearing on HB 454, giving the opportunity for community members to speak against the proposed legislation.
HB 454, co-sponsored by state Reps. Gary Click (R) and Diane Grendell (R), would prohibit transgender youth from accessing gender-affirming care in the state and bar educators from withholding information on their students’ experiences with gender dysphoria from their parents.
The bill will also threaten to remove the licensure of physicians who provide gender-affirming care to transgender youth, as well as open up those physicians to civil lawsuits.
According to Human Rights Campaign data, 13 U.S. states have implemented anti-LGBTQ laws this year, while 23 others have introduced such laws.
In a statement, Equality Ohio’s Public Policy and Digital Communications Manager Kathyrn Poe said that her organization will continue to fight to make sure HB 454 isn’t passed in the state.
“It is heinous that in 2022, when an overwhelming majority of Ohioans support equality, that bills like HB 454 are using up our tax dollars—just so some in power can elevate misinformation. Ohioans and their medical providers deserve better,” Poe said. “We don’t need our private decisions controlled by politicians. Equality Ohio urges Chair Manchester and all Committee members to honor best medical practices and vote against HB 454. Equality Ohio will continue to fight until the work is done.”
Updated at 2:17 p.m.