Today the Senate author of HB 1449, the trans erasure act, admitted to pulling a similar measure from the floor earlier in session, acknowledging the harm of the bill’s anti-trans purpose and rhetoric on 2STGNC+ Oklahomans grieving the loss of Nex Benedict. But it seems one caucus in the legislature has decided the space to disrupt the harm targeted at our most vulnerable community members is over, in favor of election years politics at the expense of 2STNGC+ safety and lives, as demonstrated with the party line vote advancing HB 1449, the trans erasure act. Following the passage of this bill and the accompanying rhetoric, Freedom Oklahoma issued the following statement:

We’re so grateful to Representative Turner for the trust they put in us when they put their name on a ballot. We’re grateful to the way they’ve continued to organize. And we wish them and their family some well deserved rest, peace, and joy, as Representative Turner takes the steps they need to ensure their wellbeing. It’s the least they deserve.

We know that the last few months have been heartbreaking and challenging. We also know that our communities have done what we’ve always done–leaned on one another to pick up the pieces after tragedy, cultivated our own spaces for grief and joy, and kept hope alive.

As we move into April, another month of picking up the pieces, we want to share some of the words and art from our beautiful community of people fighting for a future where all Two Spirit, Transgender, and Gender Nonconforming+ Oklahomans folks have the safety to live and thrive. We hope you’ll read and look through these and return to them whenever you need a dash of hope or solidarity or affirmation. We know we certainly will.

Love Letters to Trans Oklahomans - 2024

This morning, during trans week of advocacy and action, the day before the State Board of Education meets, seven weeks after Nex Benedict died, two weeks after summary results were released, the Oklahoma State Medical Examiner's Office released a full autopsy report for Nex Benedict. It does not differ from summary reports, and while it does leave us with questions about why these reports have taken so long to be shared with the public, it does not offer many of the answers folks are still seeking. And it does nothing to change the fundamental injustice of the situation: Nex Benedict was a 16 year-old Indigenous student at an Oklahoma school who was relentlessly bullied for his transness for over a year, and who died the day after being physically beaten in a school bathroom. Nex is a 16 year-old, who should still be alive. And tomorrow a body that has empowered so much of the harm against trans students will meet. And no one in or beyond that body has yet taken seriously the need to address their role in the harm and take action to keep 2SLGBTQ+ students safe.

Thursday, March 21, more than a month after Nex Benedict died the day after being beaten and receiving head wounds from a fight at school in a bathroom facility Nex was mandated by law to use despite it not aligning with his gender, Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler followed what has been thus far a united front from Oklahoma law enforcement surrounding Nex Benedict’s death, announcing his office would be taking no action in response to ongoing calls for justice and independent investigations the family is being forced to carry out.

2SLGBTQ+ people have always been, and will always be in Oklahoma. We deserve the safety to learn, to thrive here. We deserve decision makers at every level of governance who are doing everything within their power to ensure our youngest and most vulnerable residents are safe. Instead, Nex’s death further proves that–far from being a threat to anyone–Two Spirit, transgender, and gender nonconforming+ (2STGNC+) students are the ones who are threatened; they are under attack in Oklahoma schools, and they are under a coordinated attack by extremist politicians who care more about their political aspirations and media appearances than about the impact of their policies and rhetoric on 2SLGBTQ+ lives.

We know the grieving is not over. Neither is the rage. But as communities in and beyond Oklahoma gathered this weekend to mourn and honor Nex Benedict, we saw so much love and determination in the face of hate and heartache. We know we’ll have continued calls to action in the days and months ahead. We know we’ll continue to have to fight at the legislature and the State Board of Education and on the ground, as much as we’ll continue the work to build community in each of those spaces, so we get closer to safety. For those of you meeting this moment, do not lose momentum. For those of you who have been in the fight, remember to care for yourself. We make this promise to you: we will carry Nex's light forward. We will shine that light on the harms Oklahoma officials have willingly overlooked. We will make sure that light is a beacon of love and community for 2SLGBTQ+ folks. We will continue to talk about the intersections of 2SLGBTQ+ hate and the MMIR epidemic. And we will continue to grow this movement, to work together, to build a future where all 2SLGBTQ+ folks have the safety to thrive.

Nex should still be alive. Nex deserved not only a safe and nurturing environment to learn, but an environment that actively disrupted anti-2STGNC+ rhetoric and worked to ensure that vulnerable students were safe. Owasso schools failed to create that environment for Nex. And we know that is the story for too many kids across our state. We want to be clear, whether Nex died as a direct result of injuries sustained in the brutal hate-motivated attack at school or not, Nex’s death is a result of being the target of physical and emotional harm because of who Nex was. This harm is absolutely related to the rhetoric and policies that are commonplace at the Oklahoma Legislature, the State Department of Education, and the Governor’s office, with regard to dehumanizing 2STGNC+ people.

HB 3219: Two Spirit, Trans, and Intersex Identity Document Ban