In wake of Nex Benedict's death, we should all reconsider the power of words | Opinion
I first ran for elected office as a Republican in Oklahoma 15 years ago. After a decade serving in the Oklahoma House of Representatives and over five years as a statewide elected official, right now, I’m struggling to recognize my own party.
Most recently, I’ve been shocked to hear some of the commentary from colleagues in the party about the tragic suicide of Nex Benedict, a gender expansive teenager from Owasso. And I know I’m not alone. This incident has many Oklahomans, including Republicans, reconsidering the power of words to cause harm and what can be done differently to ensure no young person is ever hurt that way again. It’s a conversation that every American should be a part of.
My party of small government, fiscal conservatism, quality public education and commitment to creating an environment of success within reach of all Oklahomans has been supplanted by an obsession with the LGBTQ+ community and a refusal to put the common good first. Moderate statesmen like myself are vilified for failing any number of litmus tests that have nothing to do with the framework of government or the issues that everyday Americans care about being legislated.
Legislators, remove Ryan Walters. End his toxic crusade against Oklahoma teachers
Nex’s death has once again cast Oklahoma into the national spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Nex was bullied by classmates, possibly emboldened by the rhetoric and policies being pursued by elected officials who have relentlessly talked about LGBTQ+ youths as problems rather than people. The following day, Nex died by suicide. Our system failed this child ― whose life had barely begun, because our leaders provided them no hope for a better tomorrow. Worse, they stoked the legitimate fear that Nex would be legislated out of existence.
We will continue to fail the youths of tomorrow until we put away the destructive rhetoric used by too many to divide Americans and distract from the true problems plaguing our nation. The next generation should not be used as a wedge issue to advance an agenda. We owe them better, and we must take that responsibility seriously regardless of who they are, how they look or who they love.
Unfortunately, not everyone in my party agrees. Shortly after Nex’s death, state Sen. Tom Woods responded to a question at a community town hall about the Legislature’s fixation on LGBTQ+ people by saying that in “a Republican state … a religious state,” he and his constituents did not want “that filth” in Oklahoma. My own family has felt this rejection. My daughter, along with her wife and child, moved away from Oklahoma to a more accepting state. She is a highly educated, kind, loving Oklahoman, who was made to fear for her family. While many state leaders of both parties condemned Sen. Woods’ remarks, actions speak louder than words.
LGBTQ+ kids are dying. Sen. Tom Woods' 'filth' comments expose Oklahoma's real moral crisis.
I fight every day for her, and everyone in the LGBTQ+ community, including Nex Benedict.
Oklahoma has long been a state that values individual freedom and opportunity. Will we stand for being a state that forces people who do not look, worship, vote or love like the majority to flee? As the state labor commissioner, I can also tell you that the businesses we need to make our state prosper are watching. Is this what we wish to become, a nation where companies feel forced to take sides and where ideology tears apart families? Oklahoma, the Republican Party and our nation have a choice to make.
Far-right politicians attack my stance as immoral and call me “un-Republican.” Far-left politicians vilify me for not leaving my party. However, they are both a vocal minority. I believe there are many Republicans, Democrats and independents who believe like I do that all life has worth and deserves dignity.
The first year I was able to vote in 1981, President Ronald Reagan asked in his inaugural address: “How can we love our country, and not love our countrymen; and loving them, reach out a hand when they fall, heal them when they’re sick, and provide opportunity to make them self-sufficient so they will be equal in fact and not just in theory.”
In this moment, we must return to a way of governing when the letter next to our name does not mean more than the people and families we were elected to serve. And we can start by calling for civility and coming together to denounce the hateful rhetoric that has led to losing LGBTQ+ young people like Nex.
Leslie Osborn is Oklahoma's labor commissioner.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Nex Benedict was victim of Oklahoma lawmakers fixated on LGBTQ+ people
