Freedom Oklahoma Statement on House Public Health Committee Passage of SB 1100
April 6, 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nicole McAfee, Executive Director, 830-334-1660, nicole@freedomoklahoma.org
OKLAHOMA CITY – Today the House Public Health Committee moved another piece of legislation that serves no purpose beyond attacking nonbinary, Two Spirit, intersex, and gender diverse Oklahomans. In response, Freedom Oklahoma issued the following statement:
The following is attributable to Nicole McAfee, Freedom Oklahoma Executive Director:
“Trying to force a gender binary on other people is nothing more than an attempt to impose control over people at the expense of their health and quite possibly their lives. As a society, we constantly make changes to legal documents to ensure that they are an accurate reflection of who we are. Everything from our driver’s license, to our laws, to our lease agreements. Because information changes, and ideally, as we learn more, those updates reflect that expanded knowledge. However, instead, the Oklahoma Legislature is capitalizing on the recent politicization of gender identities beyond a binary to get themselves headlines by 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. Simply put, this measure does real harm to our public health.
Last week we saw federal news that X gender markers will soon be available on US Passports. As we’ve said time and time again, we are long past the question of if people have the right to have X-gender markers in Oklahoma, and should be fully engaged in the processes of how. Birth certificate corrections have always been necessary, but this bill seeks to limit access to documents that accurately reflect the identities of Oklahomans who do not exist within a gender binary. SB 1100 happens expense of the health of nonbinary, Two Spirit, intersex, and gender diverse people in Oklahoma.
To all of the nonbinary, Two Spirit, intersex, and gender diverse Oklahomans who again had their identities attacked and dismissed by members of the House Public Health Committee today: your gender is valid, you deserve equal access to documents with corrections that reflect who you are, and you are loved beyond measure by a community that is so grateful you exist. Nonbinary, Two Spirit, intersex, and gender diverse people have always been here. We deserve the safety to thrive here. What a shame that the people who are making it unsafe are the very government officials charged with our collective community well-being.”
Pronouns:
Nicole McAfee: they/she*
*While a mix of pronouns can look different for each person, for Nicole, this can look like either the sole use of they/them/their pronouns, or a mix of they/them/their AND she/her(s) pronouns. It’s best practice when provided with multiple pronouns to ask each individual how that’s best reflected in coverage of them.
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).
###