Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill explicitly barring the use of non-binary gender markers on state birth certificatesa ban experts say is the first of its kind in the nation, according to an NPR item.
The bill followed a situation last year over the Oklahoma State Department of Health's agreement in a civil case allowing a non-binary option. The birth certificate in that case was issued to an Oklahoma-born Oregon resident who sued after the agency initially refused the request.
News of the settlement stirred outrage among Republicans, including Stitt.
Currently, 15 states and the District of Columbia specifically allow a gender-marker designation outside of male or female, according to the National Center for Transgender Equality. That number will increase on July 1 when Vermont's new statute goes into effect.
In 2020, Oklahomans elected the nation's first openly non-binary legislator in the countryDemocratic Rep. Mauree Turner, who said it was painful to have colleagues single out those who are gender-diverse.