Gov. John Kasich has included a new category in state protections against discrimination in an executive order he signed Wednesday. However those protections might not last very long.
Kasich's order includes gender identity, which wasn’t included in previous executive orders or in state law on discrimination. This is a change for Kasich, who says he’s a conservative but has opposed the Trump Administration. Kasich’s health dept director and incoming Gov. Mike DeWine were sued in 2013 over the state’s policy against listing same-sex spouses on death certificates. That resulted in the landmark US Supreme Court same sex marriage ruling. Kasich’s executive order appears to expire when he leaves office on January 14. A spokesman for DeWine says he is reviewing all executive orders to make decisions after his inauguration.
