Oklahomans rally outside state Capitol to honor Nex Benedict

OKLAHOMA CITY — They marched. They cried. They shouted the name Nex Benedict.

More than 100 Oklahoma City students and dozens more adults gathered to honor Benedict on Thursday in front of the state Capitol, the origin of laws and rhetoric they said are harming some of Oklahoma’s most vulnerable youth.

The crowd chanted “justice for Nex” and called for an end to anti-LGBTQ+ policies and bullying.

Benedict, 16, is among the latest transgender or nonbinary young people to die by suicide after reporting bullying. The cause of the Owasso High School student’s Feb. 8 death was confirmed Wednesday by the state Medical Examiner’s Office.

“I think so many of us probably see ourselves in Nex,” Rep. Mauree Turner said in a tearful address. “I know I do. So, I think it’s really important to remember that even on our roughest days at the Oklahoma Legislature, that we have community that holds us and that keeps us safe.”

Turner, D-Oklahoma City, is the state’s only nonbinary lawmaker.

Benedict’s death has drawn outcry nationwide and, on Thursday, from the White House.

President Joe Biden said “no one should face the bullying Nex did” and called on the country to end discrimination and address the suicide crisis affecting transgender and nonbinary youth.

“Every young person deserves to have the fundamental right and freedom to be who they are, and feel safe and supported at school and in their communities,” Biden said in a statement. “Nex Benedict, a kid who just wanted to be accepted, should still be here with us today.”

Transgender and LGBTQ+ youth face a significantly higher risk of suicide, an issue often tied to a lack of acceptance by family or school peers, studies have found.

Speakers at the Oklahoma City march decried anti-transgender bullying and state policies they said have emboldened it.

Over the past two years, lawmakers have banned gender-affirming care for transgender minors, gender-neutral birth certificates, use of school restrooms that match gender identity rather than biological sex, and transgender girls’ participation in women’s sports.

Calls to the Rainbow Youth Project’s crisis line have increased since May when some of these policies became law, said Lance Preston, the organization’s founder and executive director. 

The number of calls from Oklahoma spiked since Benedict’s death, he said. Oklahoma is now the hotline’s No. 1 source of calls, the first time in two years that any state has surpassed Texas and Florida.

Rainbow Youth Project, which provides counseling and suicide prevention services, received 1,097 calls from Oklahoma in February. 

Preston said 87% of callers mentioned they experienced bullying, and 64% percent referenced state Superintendent Ryan Walters by name.

Young callers reported “that he’s one of the reasons for their distress, that he’s the reason their school is toxic, that he’s the reason they don’t want to go back to school, that they want to do online learning,” Preston said.

Walters has been a vocal opponent of trans-affirming policies in schools.

In recent weeks, he said Benedict’s death was a “heartbreaking tragedy.” After the president’s statement Thursday, Walters criticized Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, saying they “have chosen to embrace the lies of the most radical groups in their party.”

“Their party has found a new low of exploiting a child’s death,” Walters posted on social media.

The U.S. Department of Education is investigating Owasso Public Schools after the Human Rights Campaign lodged a civil rights complaint.

The organization also is circulating a petition, hoping to have Walters ousted from office, said Nicole Poindexter, associate regional campaign director.

“We send our kids to school expecting them to be safe,” Poindexter said on the Capitol steps. “Nex was failed by so many and should still be here today. But together, we are rising up to make demands of people in this very building.”