The Republican governor of Nebraska, Jim Pillen, has signed an executive order defining sex as the one assigned at birth.
The directive, signed on Wednesday (30 August), requires state agencies to describe “female” and “male” as a person’s sex assigned at birth, which Pillen claimed was part of ensuring that public locations are identified as single-sex, the Associated Press reported.
Males are defined as those "whose biological reproductive system is designed to fertilise the ova of a female," while females are defined as those "whose biological reproductive system is designed to produce ova."
In a statement, Pillen said: “It is common sense that men do not belong in women’s-only spaces."
“As governor, it is my duty to protect our kids and women’s athletics, which means providing single-sex spaces for women’s sports, bathrooms, and changing rooms.”
Abbi Swatsworth, executive director of LGBTQ+ organisation OutNebraska stated in a statement: “We are deeply disturbed and angered at our governor’s continued attempts to pit two intertwined struggles against one another, all under the guise of ‘protecting’ women."
“Transgender rights and women’s rights are not at odds. They are a collective fight for self-determination and control of our own bodies."
“Let us be clear: this executive order is a thinly veiled attack on transgender women and girls. There is no doubt that this order will erode civil rights for all Nebraskans by creating an environment where ANY woman or girl’s femininity can be called into question.”
The executive order followed a bill approved in Nebraska in May which bans gender-affirming care for trans young people, with a 12-week abortion prohibition contained in the bill. The law passed despite efforts to prevent the bill going on for nearly three months.
Nebraska Democrat Megan Hunt has been stalling the law limiting gender-affirming care for trans adolescents months before the final vote.
“If you cross it today, you’re staying on the other side of it, because you have done a reputable harm, and you’re doing harm to … Nebraska as well.”
"Don't say hi to me in the hall, don't ask me how my weekend was... don't send me Christmas cards," she advised individuals who planned to support the bill. "I don’t care. I don’t like you.”
When the executive order defining sex was signed by the governor on Wednesday, Hunt wrote on Twitter: “The truth is, no executive order can erase trans people. They have always existed and always will.”
She continued in a subsequent tweet: “I don’t respect people who are part of this discriminatory movement to push LGBTQ ppl back into the shadows."
“There’s no ‘trans debate’ or ‘trans question’. There’s just trans people and people who don’t want there to be trans people.”
According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), over 550 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been submitted in the US in 2023 thus far, including 225 trying to expressly restrict the rights of trans persons.
The anti-LGBTQ+ laws have forced Canada to issue a travel advise for LGBTQ+ individuals visiting the US, while Human Right Campaign (HRC) warned travelers visiting Florida about its anti-LGBTQ+ laws back in May.
