Oklahoma City, Okla. — In response to the death of 16-year-old Owasso High School student Nex Benedict following an assault in the school restroom, Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the ACLU of Oklahoma issued the statement below. A separate statement from HRC follows below.
"We are gravely heartbroken to learn about the death of Nex Benedict and extend our overwhelming condolences to their family, their friends, and the entire transgender community across Oklahoma. The assault on Nex is an inevitable result of the hateful rhetoric and discriminatory legislation targeting Oklahoma trans youth. We challenged Oklahoma's law requiring schools to discriminate against students like Nex because we believe every student should have the safe and affirming environment they need to thrive, and policies that put transgender students in danger make schools less safe places for all students.
"We are deeply troubled by reports the school failed to respond appropriately to the altercation that preceded Nex's death and demand a thorough, open investigation into the matter. We will never stop fighting for 2SLGBTQ+ people across Oklahoma and the country until every state is a safe place to raise every family."
Passed into law in May of 2022, Oklahoma SB 615 requires all public and public charter schools in the state that serve pre-K through 12th-grade students to designate multiple occupancy restrooms at school for the exclusive use of either the male or the female sex, as designated on individuals' original birth certificates.
Lambda Legal, The ACLU, and the ACLU of Oklahoma filed a federal lawsuit on Sept. 6, 2022, on behalf of three transgender students challenging the law on the grounds SB 615 violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, by discriminating on the basis of sex, gender identity, and transgender status.
HRC President Responds to the Tragic Death of Nex Benedict
Statement from Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC):
"The death of Nex Benedict, a non-binary teenager who died after being brutally assaulted in their high school, is a gut-wrenching tragedy that exposes the chilling reality of anti-trans hatred. The depths of this cruelty is sickening. Nex's life demands justice. We are reaching out to the DOJ, we are encouraging the community to speak out. We are determined to fight for Nex and their family."
"Nex — you deserved so much more than your too-short life. You should have had the chance to make headlines for your life, not your death. LGTBQ+ children, our children, deserve more than fear, bullying, and premature obituaries."
HRC has also published a blog honoring Nex's life, which you can read here: www.hrc.org/news/honoring-nex-benedict-16-year-old-non-binary-high-school-student-who-tragically-died-after-school-beating .
Tori Cooper, Human Rights Campaign Director of Community Engagement for the Transgender Justice Initiative, writes:
"All students, including trans and gender-expansive students like Nex, have the right to feel safe and protected while attending school. That Nex was only 16 years old compounds this tragic injustice and they should have lived to see a fulfilling and authentic life. We continue to see a horrifying amount of violence against our community, and our community's youth seem to be bearing the brunt of it all. Extremist anti-LGBTQ+ hate accounts, like online troll Chaya Raichick, the woman behind "Libs of TikTok", who was recently appointed to Oklahoma's library advisory board, are perpetuating a vile and hateful narrative that is permitting these types of public attacks. Their hateful speech is having a direct, negative impact on the lives of trans and gender-expansive folks, including young students like Nex."
