[ [link removed] ]Sign the petition to demand an investigation into 16-year-old Nex
Benedict's death after being brutally assaulted NOW!
Dear MoveOn member,
On February 7, after a year of being bullied, Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old
Choctaw Indigenous gender-fluid teen in Oklahoma, was brutally assaulted
in a bathroom by his classmates and died the next day.^1,2 Nex had bruises
all over his face and eyes, scratches on the back of their head, and
severe head injuries, but school officials didn't even call an ambulance
or medical help.^3 It's completely unacceptable. Nex should be alive
today.
[ [link removed] ]Will you join Nex's family and loved ones' demands for an investigation
and for those responsible for Nex's death to be held accountable and sign
the petition NOW?
Sue Benedict, Nex's grandmother said, "I was so proud of Nex. They were
going some place, they were so free. Nex had a light in them that was so
big, they had so many dreams. I want their light to keep shining for
everyone. That light was so big and bright and beautiful, and I want
everyone to remember Nex that way."^4
Nex will never get to draw, read, play video games, or play with his cat
Zeus (all things they loved to do) ever again. Ms. Benedict will never get
to hold her grandchild again.
[ [link removed] ]We can't and won't let Nex's family's call for an investigation go
unanswered. Click here to sign the petition to demand those responsible
for Nex's death be held accountable NOW.
What happened to Nex is a result of disgusting, violent rhetoric and
legislation. We can't let it continue. We need an investigation, and those
responsible must be held accountable NOW.
[4]Sign the petition
Nex was taken from this world entirely too soon, and their death is
reverberating in young LGBTQ+ communities across Oklahoma and across the
country. A hotline run by Rainbow Youth Project USA received 237 calls
from Oklahoma youth over the weekend, nearly three times what it logs in
an average week.^5 The LGBTQ+ community deserves more. LGBTQ+ youth
deserves more.^
[ [link removed] ]We cannot become numb to this cruelty and violence that is fueled by
Republican's hateful, transphobic, and homophobic legislation. Will you
sign the petition to demand justice for Nex?
Nex had been bullied for months after Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt made
it mandatory by law for Oklahoma public school students to use only
bathrooms that match their sex assigned at birth. Gov. Stitt and
Superintendent Walters recently appointed Raichik—a right-wing activist
known for targeting LGBTQ+ teachers—to the Library Media Advisory
Committee of the state Department of Education, even after she targeted
Nex's school district in 2022, coming after a teacher voiced their support
for their LGBTQ+ students, which resulted in the resignation of that
educator.^6
Elected officials hold so much power in their words, actions, and
legislation—and they must be held responsible when they neglect their
constituents and encourage and allow violence. Hateful, transphobic, and
homophobic rhetoric and legislation has devastating consequences. Nex is
gone, but we can't let that be the end.
[ [link removed] ]Those responsible must be held to account. We need an investigation.
Click here to sign the petition.
Every year that conservatives are allowed to throw temper tantrums about
the advancement of civil rights, the quality of life for LGBTQ+ people,
particularly trans and nonbinary people, deteriorates across the U.S. We
must hold elected officials and Republicans accountable for their
transphobic, homophobic, and violent rhetoric.
School officials completely and totally failed Nex, and now Nex is gone.
Pure, unadulterated hatred has taken him from their family.
[ [link removed] ]Will you sign the petition to echo their demands for an investigation
and for those responsible to be held accountable?
This is state-sanctioned violence in the form of legislation and moral
conservative outrage that's meant to intimidate and eradicate the LGBTQ+
community. Gov. Stitt's bathroom bill put a target on trans and nonbinary
children's backs, and the blame for Nex's death lies not just with the
girls who brutally assaulted him, not just with the school officials for
their inaction, but also with Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, State
Superintendent Ryan Walters, and Chaya Raichik, and they must be held
accountable.
LGBTQ+ and gender-diverse students deserve to learn without fear of
bullying, harassment, or violence.
[ [link removed] ]Click here to sign the petition if you agree, and then pass it along to
three friends to spread the word.
Thanks for all you do.
–Nakia, Jensine, Oscar, Jaira, and the rest of the team
P.S. Several of Nex's friends have shared that Nex preferred he/him
pronouns, but also went by they/them pronouns.^7 Throughout this e-mail,
we use both to honor the fullness of Nex's identity.
Sources:
1. "The death of an Oklahoma teen after a fight in school has LGBTQ+
advocates seeking answers," CNN, February 21, 2024
[link removed]
2. "LGBTQ+ Leaders Call For DOJ To Investigate Nex's Death," Erin In The
Morning, February 22, 2024
[link removed]
3. "Nex Benedict: Non-binary student who died after Oklahoma bathroom
assault was a 'shining light'," February 22, 2024
[link removed]
4. Ibid.
5. "Top GOP School Official Appoints Woman Behind 'Libs Of TikTok' To Key
Position," Huffington Post, January 23, 2024
[link removed]
6. "Crisis calls from the 2SLGBTQ+ youth community triple within 72
hours," KTUL, February 20, 2024
[link removed]
7. "Friends remember Nex Benedict, Oklahoma student who died after school
fight, as 'fiery kid'" NBC News, February 25, 2024
[link removed]
You're receiving this petition because we thought it might interest you.
It was created on MoveOn.org, where anyone can start their own online
petitions. You can [ [link removed] ]start your own petition here.
Want to support MoveOn's work? Book bans have skyrocketed thanks to
right-wing state laws which have forced teachers to remove books from
their classrooms. In response, MoveOn is launching a "Banned Bookmobile,"
filling it with books that the far right has banned, and driving it around
to hand out those books, for free, in highly trafficked areas that will
attract media attention. To keep the Banned Bookmobile up and running into
2024, we need your help.
Will you start a monthly gift to power our critical work?
[ [link removed] ]Yes, I'll chip in $5 a month.
[ [link removed] ]No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAID FOR BY MOVEON POLITICAL ACTION, [ [link removed] ][link removed]?.
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. MoveOn Political
Action - PO Box 96142, Washington, D.C. 20090-6142.
You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time:
[link removed]
