Exec. Order: Oklahoma Governor First To Issue Women’s Bill Of Rights

OAN’s Brooke Mallory
6:31 PM – Wednesday, August 2, 2023

Republican Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt is reportedly the first governor to issue an executive order to openly stand up for biological women, defining sex-based terminology like “female,” “woman,” and “mother,” as well as preserving female-only spaces.

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Independent Women’s Voice, the organization that initially drafted the model legislation that inspired the Women’s Bill of Rights Executive Order, joined the governor in today’s signing ceremony.

Oklahoma is the third state to adopt the Women’s Bill of Rights, which defines “sex” in state code and legislation to refer to one’s biological sex at birth. Kansas and Tennessee have also passed legislation comparable to the IWV’s Women’s Bill of Rights.

“No men are going to go into women’s prisons in the state of Oklahoma,” Stitt said. “No men in women’s domestic shelters. No men in women’s locker rooms. No men in women’s bathrooms. No men in women’s sports,” Stitt asserted.

WBOR model legislation, previously announced in March 2022, was prepared in partnership with the left-leaning feminist organization Women’s Liberation Front (WoLF) by Independent Women’s Voice and Independent Women’s Law Center (IWLC).

“I am taking decisive executive action to ensure the true definition of the word woman, meaning a biological woman, is what guides the state as we reaffirm our commitment to ensuring the safety, dignity, and sanctity of women across Oklahoma. As long as I’m governor, we will continue to protect women and ensure women-only spaces are reserved solely for biological women,” Stitt declared.

Somerlyn Cothran, a certified Oklahoma business owner and senior vice president of investor relations at the Independent Women’s Forum and the Independent Women’s Voice, also chimed in.

“Today, Governor Stitt is telling my young daughter and the millions of other Oklahoma women and girls that he has their back – that they no longer have to fear for their safety in private female only spaces. In Oklahoma, we protect women. Today, the definition of what a woman is – is solidified for women owned businesses like mine and for women entrepreneurs throughout the state. Without the Governor’s executive order today, that distinction would soon cease to mean anything,” Cothran said.

Additionally, the advisor for Independent Women’s Voice and 12x All-American swimmer, Riley Gaines, attended the signing of the governor’s executive order, saying that “Biological differences must be respected in the law to ensure female-only spaces have a future. It is sad that such basic truths must be spelled out to ensure equal protection, but I applaud Governor Stitt for taking decisive action today. Establishing common language by way of the Women’s Bill of Rights is a way of saying enough is enough: Oklahoman women deserve equal opportunity, privacy, and safety, and this order will help deliver it.”

Freedom Oklahoma, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, claimed in a recent news release that the order will not safeguard women but will instead cause civil rights abuses and subject both biological women, whom they refer to as “cis-gender,” and transgender women to heightened scrutiny and harassment.

“This Executive Order is neither about rights, nor is it about protecting women,” claimed Nicole McAfee, Executive Director of Freedom Oklahoma. “It is a thinly veiled attack on codifying discrimination against transgender women.”

A bicameral resolution sponsored by Representative Debbie Lesko of Arizona and Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi has also presented a version of the Women’s Bill of Rights at the federal level.

Senators Katie Britt of Alabama, Ted Cruz of Texas, Mike Lee of Utah, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Roger Marshall of Kansas, and Marco Rubio of Florida are among the co-sponsors, as well as Representatives Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, Diana Harshbarger of Tennesee, Mary Miller of Illinois, Claudia Tenney of New York, Burgess Owens of Utah, Jim Banks of Indiana, and Greg Steube of Florida.

To read and sign the Women’s Bill of Rights, follow this link.