While the direct cause of Nex Benedict’s death has yet to be definitively determined, there can be no doubt that Nex’s death occurred in a climate of transphobic fear and hatred that has led to the violence that the trans youth enduring in school. There can also be no doubt that Oklahoma’s transphobic politicians have incited such violence. On 27 April 2022, Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a ‘bathroom bill’ into law (“Oklahoma governor signs transgender bathroom bill,” Associated Press, 26 May 2022). As the Associated Press reported at the time,

“Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has signed a bill requiring public school students to use only the bathroom of the sex listed on their birth certificate. About a dozen conservative states have passed laws targeting the transgender population over bathroom use, participation in school sports, and gender-affirming treatments or surgery for young people. The bill passed overwhelmingly in the Republican-controlled House and Senate last week, and Stitt signed it on Wednesday… Democrats who opposed the bill said it singles out and targets transgender students, putting them at risk of ridicule. The bill was proposed after Stillwater Public Schools declined to change a policy allowing students to use the bathroom that agrees with their gender identity unless forced by law to do otherwise. Nicole McAfee, executive director of Freedom Oklahoma which supports the rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender and queer people, said the bill violates federal law and she is discussing legal action with other organizations, including the ACLU and Lambda Legal…”AP quoted McAfee as saying, “This law is unconstitutional, a violation of Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, and more than anything it is unnecessarily cruel for the sake of cruelty. Over the last day we’ve heard people talk about school safety over and over again. But with a flick of his pen, Governor Stitt said that safety doesn’t extend to already vulnerable transgender and Two Spirit young people.”

AP also noted that Stitt, “a Republican running for reelection, earlier this year signed bills to prevent transgender girls from playing on female sports teams in public schools or universities and to prohibit transgender people from changing their birth certificate.”

As Bevan Hurley reported in the Independent, “”Nex collapsed at home one day after they got into a fight with three girls in a bathroom at Owasso High School. Nex told a family member they had been ‘jumped’ after standing up to bullies, and the fight was three on one. They died in a hospital emergency room that night.”

Hurley cites the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in his report saying that Oklahoma has the highest number of bills currently pending that are targeting LGBTQ youth of any state in the country. In a recent report for the Oklahoman, Alexia Aston noted that there are 50 bills currently pending in the state legislature that would ban discussion of race and/or gender in public schools, prohibit sex education in public schools and criminalize transgender care for those under 21 (Alexia Aston, “Oklahoma legislature considering over 50 bills targeting LGBTQ+ issues. What do they say?,” the Oklahoman, 20 February 2024).

For example, the “Oklahoma Save Adolescents from Experimentation Act” (Senate Bill 878 and House Bill 1377) “would prohibit health care providers from administering gender-affirming care to minors. It would also prohibit public funds from being used for gender-affirming care for minors” will Senate Bill 252 “would prohibit health care providers from administering gender-affirming care to minors. It would also prohibit public funds from being used for gender-affirming care for minors.”