Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, a Republican, has given his assent to legislation that officially provides definitions for the terms “female” and “mother.”
This move is intended to bring about “clarity, certainty, and uniformity” in the state’s legal language.
“I’m thrilled to gather and really safeguard the God-given rights of women all across Oklahoma,” Stitt said during the signing with the Independent Women’s Voice.
“Today, we’re taking a stand against this out-of-control gender ideology that is eroding the very foundation of our society,” he added. “We are going to be safeguarding the very essence of what it means to be a woman.”
“Oklahomans are fed up with attempts to confuse the word woman and turn it into some kind of ambiguous prevented definition that harms our real women,” the Oklahoma governor continued.
State Senator Jessica Garvin (R), the initiator of this bill, explained to the Daily Caller earlier this year that the aim of the bill was to safeguard women’s spaces intended for single-sex use.
She highlighted troubling scenarios that have occurred in other states where men, after identifying as female, have been imprisoned with women. Instances have occurred where these individuals have sexually abused women, noted Garvin.
The law restricts biological men from availing government grants intended for women.
Furthermore, it forbids men from accessing facilities such as women’s restrooms, prisons, rape shelters, locker rooms, and other similar spaces designed for women.
In this new legislation, the term “mother” has been defined as “the female parent of a child or children,” while “woman” refers to “a natural person who is female.”
Any state agencies or departments, including public school districts, that collect vital statistics for public health, crime, economic or other purposes, are required to identify a person as either male or female.
This identification should be in accordance with the definitions mentioned in Section 62 of Title 25 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
