Freedom Oklahoma Statement on Senate Health and Human Services Passage of SB 1100

February 28, 2022

OKLAHOMA CITY – Just before they met on Monday, the Senate Health and Human Services added SB 1100 to their agenda, a piece of legislation rooted in falsehoods that seeks to deny a full spectrum of Oklahomans including nonbinary, Two Spirit, intersex, and gender diverse people, access to documents that accurately reflect their identity. Senator Bergstrom advances this legislation at the expense of the safety and mental health of nonbinary, Two Spirit, intersex, and gender diverse people in Oklahoma. In response, Freedom Oklahoma issued the following statement: 

The following is attributable to Nicole McAfee, Freedom Oklahoma Executive Director: 

“We make changes to legal documents all of the time to ensure that they are an accurate reflection of who we are. However, recent politicization of gender identities beyond a binary have cause political grandstanding from various policy making bodies creating arbitrary barriers that not only have serious implications for the mental health of nonbinary, Two Spirit, intersex, and other gender diverse people who need X-gender markers, but also create obstacles that make it more difficult for all of us to engage in basic community transactions from housing and employment to vaccination or identity verification.

SB 1100 author, Senator Bergstrom offered callous dismissal of nonbinary, Two Spirit, intersex, and gender diverse people, which illustrated the deep level of bigotry, fear, and ignorance of folks who have always existed in our communities and deserve government policy that works to embrace and engage us, rather than attack us for partisan sport in an election year. 

We are long past the question of if people have the right to have X-gender markers in Oklahoma, and fully engaged in the processes of how. We as a community are better equipped to serve one another when everyone has access to documents that accurately reflect who they are. Further advancement of this bill only seeks to open our state up to more lawsuits that cost money, capacity, and integrity. 

To all of the nonbinary, Two Spirit, intersex, and gender diverse Oklahomans who had their identities dismissed by members of their government yesterday, we know that is not rooted in reality. Nonbinary, Two Spirit, intersex, and gender diverse people have always been here. We deserve to thrive here. Our identities are valid, and we deserve processes that allow us to have documents that accurately reflect who we are.”

Nicole McAfee: they/she

We know that stories amplifying attacks on 2SLGBTQ+ people have a measurable negative impact on mental health. We ask that stories covering this topic include information to access 2SLGBTQ+ affirming mental health support, such as Trans Lifeline (877-565-8860), the Trevor Project (call 1-866-488-7386 or text START to 678-678), and the LGBT Hotline (888-843-4564)