Tell the Departments of Justice and EducationProtect LGBTQ students. Investigate Nex's death.

Posted: Feb. 27, 2024

LGBTQ advocates have been warning that the religious right's stoking of hatred and fury against people for simply being who they are leads to dire consequences. Tragically, they've been proven right yet again, this time in Oklahoma.

In February, Nex Benedict, a nonbinary student who used both they/them and he/him pronouns, was attacked and viciously beaten in the bathroom at Owasso High School by three students who had been bullying them over their appearance.

Nex died the next day.

There's a lot we still don't know about what happened, but there are clear signs that the attack wasn't taken as seriously as it should have been. After the assault, school officials didn't contact the police or even investigate.

Religious-right Oklahoma politicians have dramatically restricted the rights of trans and nonbinary people, putting youth like Nex at greater risk. Oklahoma School Superintendent Ryan Walters is quickly becoming one of the most notoriously anti-LGBTQ, Christian-nationalist officials in the country, recently describing trans students as dangerous people who "put our girls in jeopardy."

The state officials who passed these Christian-nationalist laws and mainstreamed dehumanizing rhetoric cannot be trusted to conduct a fair investigation of Nex's death. Let's speak out together as Christians, denounce the harm being done to LGBTQ youth in Jesus's hijacked name, and add our voices to the chorus asking the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education to investigate what happened to Nex.

Sign the petition:

Dear Attorney General Merrick Garland, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, and colleagues,

As members of the Christian organization Faithful America, we're heartbroken and furious about the vicious beating and subsequent death of Nex Benedict, a nonbinary high school student from Oklahoma.

This horrible incident was handled inappropriately by local school officials, who failed to notify the police about the attack. And the hostile environment created by Oklahoma School Superintendent Ryan Walters -- who has abused his office and twisted the definition of religious freedom to spread dehumanizing rhetoric against LGBTQ people, such as by once calling trans students a threat who "put our girls in danger" -- almost certainly played a role in the tragic outcome.

Oklahoma leaders have dramatically restricted the rights of trans and nonbinary people, putting youth like Nex at greater risk of bullying and violence. The state officials who put these Christian-nationalist laws into place should not be trusted to conduct a fair investigation of this incident.

Please open an investigation into Nex's death and any possible violation of their civil rights by the state of Oklahoma now.

Thank you.

Not ? Click here.

Name*

Email address*

Country Country

ZIP Code*

Postal code