The “disheartened and exhausted” OU LGBTQ+ Student Alliance released an official statement Wednesday regarding the signing of Oklahoma Senate Bill 2 created to “stifle the livelihoods” of 2SLGBTQ+ people.
Dubbed the “Save Women’s Sports Act,” the bill signed into law Wednesday morning requires athletic teams at K-12 schools and universities in the state to designate players based on “biological sex,” or assigned sex at birth.
Formerly the Gay Activist Alliance at OU, the LGBTQ+ Student Alliance describes the bill as part of a “slew of discriminatory bills and actions” that affect the 2SLGBTQ+ community, especially trans girls.
“Trans women are women,” the statement wrote. “Trans athletes deserve to compete. Trans students are students. Trans children are children.”
Since its inception in 1973, LGBTQ+ Student Alliance wrote they have fought with the Oklahoma State government for the right to be recognized as a registered student organization at OU, funded by the OU Student Government Association, and against “the opinions of bigoted and ill-informed people at the university, local and state levels.”
“This bill, and its many recent anti-trans counterparts, are cruel,” the statement wrote. “Their goal is not to protect sports or children or families, but to harm trans and LGBTQ+ individuals in our state, and gain traction in a political landscape that has no concern for the damage it causes our communities.”
Members of the LGBTQ+ Student Alliance wrote they pledge to stand up for their rights as students and continue to fight the legislation that hurts the LGBTQ+ community.
“The LGBTQ+ Student Alliance stands firmly with our community and encourages our allies to stand with us as we weather the great storm that is a state and legislative scene that has no regard for our status as human beings,” the statement wrote. “We will continue to advocate and fight for the participation and safety of our students, and encourage our peers to do the same.”
