Dear Friend,

What happened to Nex Benedict – the 16-year-old, nonbinary public school student in Oklahoma who died after they were attacked by fellow students – is heartbreaking and enraging.

Last week AU released a statement ([link removed]) criticizing Oklahoma officials for their anti-2SLGBTQ+** crusade. But a statement can only go so far.

Now, it’s time to take action – in the name of Nex and other 2SLGBTQ+ students facing discrimination and persecution in Oklahoma. Americans United is joining our allies in calling for the Oklahoma Legislature to immediately remove Ryan Walters from his position as Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction and to begin an investigation into the Oklahoma State Department of Education’s actions and policies that have led to a culture of rampant harassment against 2SLGBTQ+ students.

We’re asking you to add your voice: Sign our petition calling on the Oklahoma Legislature to investigate the Oklahoma State Department of Education and remove Superintendent Walters: [link removed]

Transgender and nonbinary public school students face challenges nationwide, and the situation in Oklahoma is especially dire. Superintendent Walters openly spews anti-2SLGBTQ+ rhetoric and is on a crusade to force fundamentalist Christianity into the state's schools.

Walters appointed Chaya Raichik of Libs of TikTok – a rabidly anti-trans internet bully – to ban books and oversee “school safety” in the state. In an interview following Nex’s death, Walters callously said: “There’s not multiple genders. There’s two. That’s how God created us."

And let’s not forget, Oklahoma officials also approved the nation’s first religious public school, which will discriminate against 2SLGBTQ+ students; AU and our allies are challenging the school in court.

The highest authorities in Oklahoma’s education system have empowered Christian Nationalists and anti-2SLGBTQ+ bullies. We must act to protect 2SLGBTQ+ kids and staff in public schools. We need you to take action with us: [link removed]

Nonbinary kids like Nex are trying to live their authentic lives – something most Americans take for granted. But religious and anti-2SLGBTQ+ extremists are denying kids like Nex their rights, their dignity and sometimes, their very existence.

That’s why we are calling on all supporters of Americans United to sign the petition demanding that the Oklahoma Legislature remove Superintendent Walters and investigate the policies and actions that fostered the culture of hate that allowed this tragedy to happen: [link removed]

Join us as we continue to demand freedom without favor and equality without exception for all Americans.

With hope and determination,

Rachel Laser
President & CEO

Act Now: [link removed]

** In this petition and email we use 2SLGBTQ+ where 2S stands for “Two-Spirit,'' which is a phrase used in Indigenous communities to identify gender-expansive individuals or those who do not identify with their gender at birth. Oklahoma has the largest indigenous population of any state and Nex was of the Choctaw ancestry.

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