Statement on the Death of Nex Benedict: Autopsy Update

Soon after our March 12th statement on the death of Nex Benedict, the autopsy was released, showing the cause of death as suicide. We mourn this tragic death, and our hearts go out to all LGBTQ+ students in Oklahoma and across our country who face bullying for how they identify, present themselves, and love. Policies in states like Oklahoma brand LGBTQ+ people as “less than“ and as a problem that needs to be solved. LGBTQ+ students exist in schools everywhere and deserve to be represented in curriculum and literature to help build understanding and to reduce bullying. We don‘t want to "make your straight kids gay," we want our LGBTQ+ kids to live. We hope the current investigation holds all applicable parties accountable.

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Statement on the Death of Nex Benedict

It‘s been over a month and we still don‘t know the cause of death of Nex Bennedict, a 16-year-old LGBTQ+ student from Oklahoma. What we do know is that Nex was bullied for the way they dressed, and that this led to a fight in a school bathroom the day before their death. CFM is saddened by the facts of this case, but we aren‘t surprised. Oklahoma has led the nation in anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. For those who argue that LGBTQ+ content and conversations should be kept out of schools, let this tragedy serve as an example for why LGBTQ+ people require representation in schools. We know a major cause of bullying is due to a lack of understanding for differences, and that education is vital in breaking down these misunderstandings. LGBTQ+ students exist in schools, and therefore their classmates are not too young to learn about their fellow students. Seeking to erase these topics from schools threatens the safety of LGBTQ+ students. Chosen Family of Michigan is currently fighting back against LGBTQ+ book bans and other anti-gay legislation that targets schools through our Representation Matters! initiative. You can support this initiative through the Wish List on our Linktree. We mourn the loss of Nex and will continue to fight for LGBTQ+ students in Michigan and across the country.

Help us continue to fight by making a tax-deductible donation at chosenfamilyofmichigan.org

Statement on Michigan House Bills 5300-5303: Legal Name Change, Birth Certificates, and Gender Markers

Chosen Family of Michigan stands in support of House Bills 5300-5303, which seek to improve the Legal Name Change process and other updates that will benefit the LGBTQ+ community.

HB 5300 will make the Legal Name Change process more seamless. The Legal Name Change process is currently costly and burdensome, even requiring the person seeking the name change to publish a Notice of Hearing in the local paper, potentially outing members of the transgender community. Publication in a local newspaper is not a requirement in many other types of court proceedings, and this bill seeks to eliminate this requirement, in addition to other burdens.

HB 5303 will eliminate the requirement that transgender people need to have sex reassignment surgery in order to establish grounds for the change of the sex designation on a birth certificate while also adding a non-binary sex option.

HB 5301 and 5302 codifies current Secretary of State policies that allow gender marker changes on State IDs and driver's licenses, as well as providing a non-binary gender marker option.

In 2023, CFM‘s Policy Squad published a name-change guide, serving as a tool to assist the transgender community in navigating the current burdensome system of the name change process. We are excited about this bill package, and encourage it to be passed into law swiftly.

Help us continue to fight by making a tax-deductible donation at chosenfamilyofmichigan.org