Oklahoma bucking the trend. As political authorities multiply across the Western world introducing the “X” on identity documents for so-called “non-binary” persons (i.e., those who do not identify as either male or female), Kevit Stitt, the Republican Governor of the Midwestern state, signed a bill that explicitly prohibits indicating the “non-binary” gender on identification documents. You are either male or female: no symbol or inscription can state anything other than that.
The Cause
The law, having followed an emergency procedure, went into effect immediately. It all stems from an executive order by Governor Stitt that prevented the Oklahoma Department of Health from issuing gender-neutral birth certificates. In November, in fact, a citizen of that State had won a lawsuit and therefore had his birth certificate changed by indicating “X” for non-binary where normally it should be either “F” for female or “M” for male.
Science
Oklahoma House Member Sheila Dills commented, “People are free to believe what they want as to their identity, but science has established that at birth people are biologically either male or female.” Therefore, she added, “clarity and truth are desired on official documents. The information must be based on established medical facts and not on the ever-changing debate that is going on in society”.
Gender? A trifle
Michael Bergstrom, first signatory of the bill that has now become law, said that “in this ongoing war on common sense, we need to stand up and put an end to the nonsense about biological sex. It’s not a complicated issue: biologically you are either male or female. There are no other options to choose from on a birth certificate.” He concluded, “I’m glad that my colleagues in the House also saw the need to support science and passed this measure.”
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