Oklahoma governor signs ban on nonbinary gender markers on birth certificates

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill Tuesday explicitly prohibiting the use of nonbinary gender markers on state birth certificates, a ban experts say is the first of its kind in the nation.

The bill followed a flap last year over the Oklahoma State Department of Health's agreement in a civil case allowing a nonbinary option. The birth certificate in that case was issued to an Oklahoma-born Oregon resident who sued after the agency initially refused the request. People who are nonbinary do not identify with traditional male or female gender assignments.

News of the settlement prompted outrage among Republicans, including Stitt, and his appointee to lead the agency abruptly resigned the next day. Stitt then promptly issued an executive order prohibiting any changes to a person's gender on birth certificates, despite the settlement agreement. A civil rights group has challenged the executive order in federal court, but the state has not yet responded.