OKLAHOMA CITY– Today, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed into law Senate Bill 2, a bill preventing transgender students from playing school sports that passed the House last year, and then was revived and rushed through the Senate last week for passage. Against the guidance of leading health experts, the Governor signed the bill in a ceremony alongside anti-equality legislators.

S.B. 2 prohibits transgender students from playing school sports consistent with their gender identity. It effectively excludes all transgender girls from participating in school athletics, increasing their isolation and denying them the social, physical and emotional benefits of sports. It does so despite the fact that banning transgender girls from participating in school sports programs solves nothing and in fact causes great harm. In addition to S.B. 2, the state legislature is also moving forward two additional bills that target the LGBTQ+ community: S.B. 9, a bill that would expand definition of obscene materials to target the LGBTQ+ community, and S.B. 1100, a bill that would eliminate inclusive gender markers from official documents. Data shows that 75% of Oklahomans support expanding LGBTQ+ rights including protections from discrimination, contradictory to the Governor’s actions.

Human Rights Campaign State Legislative Director and Senior Counsel Cathryn Oakley issued the following statement in reaction to Gov. Stitt signing SB 2 into law:

“Last year, Oklahoma Senate President Greg Treat rightly called S.B. 2 a solution in search of a problem. Nothing has changed, yet Governor Stitt and Oklahoma legislators have sadly decided that harming Oklahoma’s most vulnerable children and their families is worthwhile if it’s politically helpful with the extreme elements of their base. It’s only March, and 2022 is on track to be the worst year on record for introduction and enactment of anti-transgender legislation,” said Human Rights Campaign State Legislative Director and Senior Counsel Cathryn Oakley. “Other Republican governors have chosen to follow the facts to their logical conclusion - just last week Republican governors in Indiana and Utah vetoed legislation similar to S.B. 2, citing the wellbeing and mental health of transgender kids, the lack of any problem with transgender youth participation in sports, and potential litigation. Instead, Governor Stitt has chosen discrimination over the well-being of everyday Oklahomans. The Human Rights Campaign strongly condemns his actions.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ+ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.