New Bill Would Prevent Changing Gender On Birth Certificates

A bill was presented at the Oklahoma capitol Tuesday that, if passed, would not allow gender changes on birth certificates. 

The House was divided by the bill. Author Kevin West says the bill will provide more clarity, while others argue it would make things more confusing.

“To me, this just comes down to biological scientific facts. You're either a male or you are a female,” said Rep. Kevin West, (R-Moore). “I think the title of the law is exactly right. It's vital statistics that we need to know to identify people.”

West says this idea is already in place, through the state health department, administrative rules, and following multiple court rulings. He says he just wants to add it to the state statute.

“The reason for the bill is just to give clarity to Oklahomans,” said Rep. West.

LGBTQ+ advocate Nicole McAfee pushes back on that. The organization she runs, Freedom Oklahoma, helps people change their gender on records.

“Freedom Oklahoma has run a gender marker correction clinic for several years and we've helped hundreds of Oklahomans with the process of name and gender marker corrections,” said McAfee.

McAfee calls the bill a barrier.

“Regardless of where folks live now, if they are trying to change their gender marker and they had the misfortune of being born in Oklahoma this would mean that they don't have that option available to them,” said McAfee.

Democrats debating the bill including Representative Jared Deck, call this legislation government overreach.

“We continue to see the state step in and try to interfere with people's existence, how they live their lives, and their pursuit of happiness,” said Rep. Deck (D-Norman).

Deck also says this will cause more confusion since the bill would only apply to birth certificates, not other government documents such as a driver's license.

“It can cause problems between state-issued identification and federal identification, it can cause problems for law enforcement for Service Oklahoma in issuing driver's licenses,” said Rep. Deck.

West circled back to his main point, saying this is not a new idea, it simply adds uniformity across the board.

“This, is in my opinion, [adds] clarity and transparency,” said Rep. West.

The bill passed through committee with only two 'no' votes and will now be eligible for a hearing on the House floor.