On Tuesday, Governor Kevin Stitt, R-Okla., passed an executive order to protect women by passing a “Women’s Bill of Rights.”
“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,” the governor stated.
The bill was adopted from similar legislation by Independent Women’s Voice (IWV), also inspiring Kansas and Tennessee to pass a Women’s Bill of Rights.
The bill defines sex-based words such as “female”, “woman”, and “mother.” Additionally, the legislation protects the privacy of women-only spaces and enforces schools and other state institutions to identify all people as male or female.
Riley Gaines, former Kentucky swimmer and advisor for IWV, attended Stitt’s signing of the bill on Tuesday.
“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,” Gaines said.
Stitt and Gaines joined “The Faulkner Focus” for an interview on Fox to discuss how the law will solidify distinctions between men and women.
“It's even weird to say that we have to do this in today's age,” the Oklahoma governor told Faulkner, “but to us, it's just common sense that we have to do this to define what a woman is and protect women.”
Critics of the bill have called it “sexist” and “transphobic.”
“I have three daughters,” Stitt said in the interview. “My wife and I've been married for 25 years. I did this for them. I did it for Riley Gaines. I did it for all the young girls in the state of Oklahoma.”