On Thursday, February 8th, Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old Indigenous Chahta (Choctaw), Non-Binary student, died the day after being attacked and beaten in their Oklahoma high school’s bathroom. We grieve with Nex’s loved ones and the LGBTQI+ community at-large, and call attention to the dangers of anti-LGBTQI+ laws in Oklahoma and elsewhere that contributed to Nex’s death.
Other students had bullied Nex throughout the school year and before the attack. These targeted acts of violence were enabled by anti-2STGNC+ (Two Spirit, Transgender, Gender-Non-Conforming+) laws in Oklahoma, which notably require students to use bathrooms according to their sex assigned at birth regardless of their gender identity. Additionally, Oklahoma has laws banning the use of Non-Binary gender markers on identity documents, banning gender-affirming care for youth under 18, and banning Trans girls from participating in sports alongside cisgender girls. Oklahoma is considering passage of more anti-LGBTQI+ bills, including measures banning gender-affirming care for adults, forbidding school employees from using students’ pronouns if they do not correspond with their sex assigned at birth, and prohibiting state laws or executive orders that recognize any gender besides male and female. Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt and the Oklahoma legislature have used their power to fuel anti-LGBTQI+ discrimination, stigma, and hate, particularly towards Transgender and Non-Binary youth. Trans and Non-Binary people have long been targeted for violence and discrimination, and it is getting worse.
The National Health Law Program condemns such hateful anti-LGBTQI+ rhetoric and discriminatory legislation, which create a hostile climate against LGBTQI+, and especially Transgender and Non-Binary, youth in schools and places where youth deserve and need support. Committed to doing our part to end transphobia, homophobia, and hate, we call on local, state, and federal lawmakers to invest in meaningful policy solutions to foster safe and affirming environments for LGBTQI+ youth. NHeLP stands in solidarity with the Oklahoma LGBTQI+ community in demanding accountability and action to better support and protect Transgender and Non-Binary youth.
