Everyone focuses on national politics. But sometimes the biggest change happens at the state level.
And now a Republican Governor put the final nail in the coffin of the Democrats’ agenda.
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt (R) signed a groundbreaking bill this week, banning male inmates from accessing women’s restrooms, changing rooms, and sleeping quarters in state correctional facilities.
This move aligns with President Donald Trump’s campaign against state policies permitting transgender-identifying men to enter women’s spaces, sparking heated debate.
Oklahoma’s Protective Legislation
The newly enacted SB 418 ensures that women’s intimate spaces in Oklahoma’s correctional facilities remain exclusive to biological females, addressing concerns about privacy and safety.
Alliance Defending Freedom legal counsel Sara Beth Nolan praised the bill, stating, “States have a duty to protect the privacy and safety of women and girls. Letting men intrude into women’s intimate spaces is a denial of the real biological differences between the two s*xes and has devastating effects on women.”
She commended Sen. Julie Daniels, Rep. Toni Hasenbeck, and Governor Stitt, adding, “In no world should women be forced to sacrifice their privacy and safety to activists pushing gender ideology.” The law responds to growing reports of female inmates feeling unsafe due to policies allowing male inmates identifying as women into their facilities.
National Push Against Gender Ideology
President Trump’s administration has taken a firm stance against policies accommodating transgender-identifying inmates in women’s spaces.
On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order, Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, banning men from women’s prisons and detention centers.
Attorney General Pam Bondi reinforced this policy, vowing in April to revoke nonessential federal funding from women’s prisons housing males, declaring, “We will pull your funding, we will protect women in prison, we will protect women in sports, we will protect women throughout this country.”
This federal push clashes with states like California, where a 2022 report revealed that 33 percent of male inmates seeking transfer to female prisons were registered s*x offenders, highlighting the risks of such policies.
Legal and Safety Challenges in Prisons
The implementation of SB 418 and Trump’s executive order has triggered significant backlash from transgender activists, who argue that inmates should be housed based on gender identity.
However, female inmates and advocates report dire consequences, including cases of r*pe and impregnation by transgender-identifying male prisoners in states with permissive policies.
Incarcerated women have reported feeling threatened by violent male inmates exploiting these systems. Numerous transgender-identifying male inmates have sued the Trump administration, challenging the ban on their placement in women’s facilities.
