Oklahoma Governor Halts Change Allowing ‘Non-Binary’ on Birth Certificate

On Monday, Governor of Oklahoma, Kevin Stitt, signed an executive order stopping the state from issuing nonbinary birth certificates. The order requires the Oklahoma State Department of health, “Cease amending birth certificates” in ways that are inconsistent with state law.

The Governor urged the legislature to pass legislation to clarify that “designation of non-binary is contrary to Oklahoma law.”

According to KFOR, this all came about, “In December 2019, Kit Vivien Lorelied applied to make changes to their Oklahoma birth certificate. The changes they requested were to their name and sex. Lorelied is non-binary and uses the pronouns they/them/their.

In a letter to Lorelied, the Oklahoma State Department of Health stated that they could change their name but could not amend sex to non-binary.

“‘Non-binary’ is not an option in Oklahoma for birth records. If you choose to amend your birth record to reflect male, the order will need to be modified to reflect that and then we will need a certified copy of that order,” the letter from the OSDH read.”

Lorelied filed a lawsuit against several members of the OSDH in late 2020. OSDH agreed to settle and change its practices. They agreed to let Oklahomans change the sex designation on their birth certificate if they obtain a court order from an Oklahoma court and have it on record with the Oklahoma Office of Vital Records.

Governor Stitt gave a statement after the settlement, “I believe that people are created by God to be male or female. Period. There is no such thing as non-binary sex and I wholeheartedly condemn the purported OSDH court settlement that was entered into by rogue activists who acted without receiving proper approval or oversight…I will be taking whatever action necessary to protect Oklahoma values and our way of life.”

State Senator Michael Bergstrom filed Senate Bill 1100 in October, the bill would restrict birth certificate gender options to male and female.

“I was assured by the State Department of Health a couple months ago that they had no intention of adding another sex option to birth certificates, but they recently approved a non-binary option. We’re at an odd time in history where people are seemingly forgetting science and biology and casting common sense out the window. When babies are born, they are either born male or female based on their chromosomes and genitals. Allowing anything else to be listed on a birth certificate is ludicrous, and it’s time we clarify this in our statutes” Bergstrom stated.

OSDH said in a statement to The Hill, it “stands committed to serving the citizens of Oklahoma in maintaining the integrity of vital records. Pursuant to Governor Stitt’s Executive Order, OSDH will continue to amend birth certificates as allowed by law. These amendments will include legal change of name or corrections of errors. OSDH will work with the Governor and Attorney General on any orders for amendments that may fall outside the scope of 63 O.S. 1-321. OSDH will continue to uphold its mandate in the area of vital statistics within the authority granted by the Oklahoma Legislature”

We will see if Oklahoma is able to solidify, in the opinion of the governor, that there are only two genders of male and female or not. With legislation introduced it may not be long before we see more action. Stay tuned to Media Right News.