Out of 54 anti-LGBTQ+ bills filed in Oklahoma this year, 3 are still active: What to know

Alexia Aston, The Oklahoman
·2 min read
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Anti-LGBTQ+ bills flooded the Oklahoma legislature this session as state lawmakers filed over 50 bills targeting the queer community.

The overflow of bills targeting LGBTQ+ Oklahomans, especially transgender and non-binary Oklahomans, coincided with the death of Nex Benedict and the statewide outcry against bullying and anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric in the Capitol.

As the state grapples with the death of Benedict, the circumstances that led up to it and the consequences to come, just three of the over 50 anti-LGBTQ+ bills met passage requirements and are still active.

Here's what they say.

Senate Bill 1677: Allows foster parents to disregard gender policy conflicting with religious beliefs

Senate Bill 1677, authored by Sen. Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville, would prohibit the Department of Human Services from requiring adoptive or foster parents to affirm or support any government policy regarding sexual orientation or gender identity that conflicts with their moral or religious beliefs.

The bill would also prohibit DHS from denying adoption or fostering for their beliefs about sexual orientation or gender identity.

House Bill 3022: Expands Oklahoma's bathroom bill to state prisons

House Bill 3022, authored by Rep. Justin Humphrey, R-Lane, would require incarcerated individuals in state correctional facilities to use restrooms, changing rooms and sleeping quarters that correspond with their sex assigned at birth.

If an incarcerated individual sees a person in a restroom or changing room that does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth, the bill would grant the individual a private cause of action for declaratory and injunctive relief against the Department of Corrections if:

  • the correctional facility gave that person permission to use a restroom or changing room that does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth; or

  • the correctional facility failed to take reasonable steps to prohibit that person from using the restroom or changing room that does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth.

House Bill 3214: Allows medical practitioners to decline procedures, make employment decisions based on religious beliefs

House Bill 3214, or the "Medical Ethics Defense Act," was authored by Rep. Kevin West, R-Oklahoma City, and would grant a medical practitioner, healthcare institution or health care player the ability to decline a medical procedure that "violates" their conscience. It would also allow a religious medical practitioner, healthcare institution or health care player to make employment, staffing, contracting and admitting privilege decisions consistent with its religious beliefs.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Anti-LGBTQ+ bills: 3 still active in Oklahoma legislative session