A state senator from eastern Oklahoma referred to LGBTQ people as "filth" when asked at a public forum on Friday about the death of Nex Benedict, a nonbinary high school student in the Tulsa area, reported Public Radio Tulsa.
Sen. Tom Woods said that his heart went out to Benedict's family, but that regarding LGBTQ identity generally, "We are a religious state. We are going to fight to keep that filth out of the state of Oklahoma, because we’re a Christian state. We’re a rural state. We want to lower taxes, and for people to live and work, and to go to the faith they choose."
Benedict, 16, died earlier this month one day after a fight in a high school bathroom. The circumstances of their death are still under investigation, and police are interviewing staff and students.
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The incident has led to an outpouring from LGBTQ groups around the country, and a public statement from Vice President Kamala Harris that she and President Joe Biden "stand with" LGBTQ youth.
"The death of any child in an Oklahoma school is a tragedy — and bullies must be held accountable," said Gov. Kevin Stitt in a statement. “As we await the results of the investigation, I urge Owasso Police and Owasso Public Schools to be forthcoming and transparent with the public.”
All of this comes amid a push in many Republican-controlled states, including Oklahoma, to remove affirmations of LGBTQ identity from public schools, in particular books that describe those life stories. The state's far-right top education official Ryan Walters recently gave an advisory position to Chaya Raichik, the social media influencer behind the anti-LGBTQ account "Libs of TikTok," despite the fact that her activity has been accused of inspiring terroristic threats against schools and hospitals, and despite the fact that she doesn't live in Oklahoma.
