Inside the Dire State of LGBTQ+ Rights in Oklahoma

[Jessica_Rose]

Inside the Dire State of LGBTQ+ Rights in Oklahoma

https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestyle-buzz/inside-the-dire-state-of-lgbtq-rights-in-oklahoma/ar-BB1jk6ao?ocid=windirect&cvid=addca2da04b147a7a0e5db53eb7e48c7&ei=38

Story by Andrea González-Ramírez (4 March 2024)

The case of Nex Benedict, the gender-nonconforming teen in Oklahoma who died following a physical altercation with other students in a high-school bathroom, hit close to home for state representative Mauree Turner. They made history four years ago when they were elected to Oklahoma's House of Representatives, becoming the U.S.'s first nonbinary legislator, and since then Turner has had a front-row seat to her conservative colleagues unleashing a relentless assault on LGBTQ+ rights. Some of the measures their fellow lawmakers have enacted include banning minors from receiving gender-affirming medical care, prohibiting trans children from using the school bathroom that corresponds to their gender identity, and blocking trans girls and women from playing on female sports teams. This session alone, lawmakers have brought forward more than 50 bills targeting the LGBTQ+ community. While Nex's death remains under investigation, it's clear to Turner that it's connected to these attacks. They spoke with the Cut about what some of these measures entail, their reaction to Nex's death, and how the rest of the country can show up for transgender Oklahomans...

[LoriDee]

I once had a friend tell me. "If you don't like what is happening in your state/County/City, vote with your feet and leave."

They won't notice a couple of people looking for common decency elsewhere. But a mass exodus gets their attention through loss of tax revenue. If you can't leave for some reason, civil rights lawyers would be happy to deprive them of some money. Class-action lawsuits can cost millions of dollars.

If only society everywhere was filled with decent people. {/pipedream}

[imallie]

The vote with your feet thing is wonderful, Lori..

But the sad fact is, there is a large swath of the population without the financial resources to afford to move. Either because they cannot afford to lose their job, the benefits that go along with it, or they simply do not have the resources to pay for a physical move from state to state.

It's why so the health of so many women in deeply red states are truly at risk right now, as they are help captive by their state legislatures, and depending on the election, the federal government.  Scary stuff.

[Iztaccihuatl]

Here is the really sad thing: If all women moved to states that allow full reproductive health care and all LGBTQ+ people moved to welcoming states, the consequences would be that blue states would get blue-er and red states would get red-er. And since significantly more states would be red than blue, the same Republicans enacting those laws would have total control of the senate and a lopsided advantage in the electoral college and we all know what that means.

I guess this is their strategy behind all those socially polarizing legislation, to pack all left leaning voters into a small number of states.