In yet another attack on transgender people, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has directed state agencies to use narrow definitions of "female" and "male," according to NBC News.
Stitt signed the executive order surrounded by women from the anti-trans group Independent Women's Voice. The women included Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer known for criticizing an NCAA decision allowing trans swimmer Lia Thomas to compete against her in a women's championship race.
In addition to requiring state agencies and boards to define the words "female" and "male" to correspond with the person's sex assigned at birth, the executive order also includes definitions for the words "man," "boy," "woman," "girl," "father" and "mother."
According to The Hill, a 2021 executive order that Stitt signed bars transgender people from amending the gender listed on their original birth certificates and, in 2022, Stitt signed a bill prohibiting nonbinary gender markers on state-issued birth certificates.
Oklahomans for Equality Executive Director Dorothy Ballard sent a statement to Windy City Times regarding this latest development: "This is another definitive step [backward] for all Oklahomans while again dangerously targeting the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
"We need the nation's eyes on us. Everyone should be alarmed, as Governor Stitt and a majority of Oklahoma's legislature persists in trying to turn back the clock on civil and human rights.
"It won't stop here unless there is unified effort to halt its advance. This impacts us all, including those politicizing our lives through laws based on partisan rhetoric and bigoted ignorance."
—Andrew Davis
