Oklahoma’s Republican Governor Kevin Stitt has signed legislation into law that protects women’s rights in the state. Gov. Stitt has signed the “Women’s Bill of Rights” into law which defines the words “female” and “mother” in order to “bring clarity, certainty, and uniformity” to state laws.
The bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Jessica Garvin, said that the new law will protect women from being replaced by men.
She asserted that the bill will stop women’s single-sex spaces from being invaded by men.
“There are states where there have been men who have been incarcerated, and then they decided to identify as female,” Garvin said.
“That has obviously been problematic because it turns out some of these men have sexually abused women while incarcerated.”
The bill stipulates that biological men cannot receive government grants meant for women.
It also prohibits men from using female restrooms, prisons, rape shelters, locker rooms, and other spaces.
🆕EXCLUSIVE: Oklahoma Governor Stitt will sign the #WomensBillOfRights tomorrow by Executive Order!🚺
The signing ceremony will take place at 10:00am CT, where IWV Spokeswoman @Riley_Gaines_ will join @GovStitt to mark this important moment for women.https://t.co/OzIXwLnRYe pic.twitter.com/dL2eO3xW7s
— Independent Women's Voice (@IWV) August 1, 2023
Exclusive from @politico on the #WomensBillofRights!! Oklahoma @GovStitt expected to be the first governor in the country to adopt the Women's Bill of Rights by executive order. Words have ZERO meaning in law/code without a common language. And women have ZERO protections and… pic.twitter.com/Na92fycmsQ
— Victoria Coley (@VictoriaRColey) August 1, 2023
The bill defines the word “mother” as “the female parent of a child or children.”
The word “woman” is defined as “a natural person who is female.”
The new legal definitions will prevent men from claiming to be women and demanding to be treated as such.
“The state, any political subdivision, or any state agency or department including but not limited to public school districts that collects vital statistics for the purpose of gathering accurate public health, crime, economic or other data shall identify any natural person who is part of the collected data as either male or female as defined in Section 62 of Title 25 of the Oklahoma Statutes,” the bill continues.
Republican Senator Cyndi Hyde-Smith (R-MS) introduced a Women’s Bill of Rights in February 2023, after a similar resolution failed in May 2022.
The bill would define “mother,” “woman,” and “sex” along the same lines as Oklahoma’s bill.
“One of the many problems with these radical notions to redefine male and female is that they end up doing more harm than good,” Hyde-Smith said.
“Our resolution simply affirms the biological differences between males and females under federal law, ensuring that womanhood is not erased by the ‘woke’ left’s reckless attempts to be inclusive.”