In Oklahoma's crowded field of new LGBTQ+ bills, here's a look at 5 drawing the most attention

The Oklahoma legislature has introduced over 50 bills targeting the LGBTQ+ community this session, sparking debate and controversy among LGBTQ+ advocates and conservatives across the state.

Here are the five bills under the most scrutiny in the 2024 legislative session.

House Bill 3217: 'Patriotism Not Pride Act'

Authored by Rep. Kevin West, R-Oklahoma City, HB 3217, or the "Patriotism Not Pride Act" seeks to prohibit state agencies from displaying flags that represent gender identity on state property.

The bill also would ban state agencies from using any funds ― federal or private — to develop, administer, engage in, promote or endorse any activity that aims to promote or recognize Pride Month or any event with a similar theme.

During the committee meeting earlier this month, West said he'd seen banners on state agency websites promoting Pride Month, which is why he felt the bill was necessary.

After the bill passed committee, Nguyen called the bill "vague and discriminatory" in a statement.

"Rainbow flags, Pride flags, and other symbols celebrating 2LGBTQ+ pride are a protected form of free speech and have been used to [instill] a sense of community across the country," Nguyen said in the statement.

In a statement from Nicole McAfee, the executive director of Freedom Oklahoma, they said the bill threatens the ability of "2SLGBTQ+ Oklahomans from receiving culturally competent services from the state."

“Not even a week into session, and already the House has declared their obsession with targeting and isolating 2SLGBTQ+ Oklahomans will continue this year," McAfee said.

House Bill 3120: Limiting LGBTQ+ sex education, forced outing

Authored by Rep. Danny Williams, R-Seminole, House Bill 3120 would amend the "Parents Bill of Rights" by adding legislation seeking to limit LGBTQ+ sex education, implementing anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric in AIDS instruction and forcing queer students to "out" themselves.

The bill would require parents to opt their children into sex education. The state of Oklahoma already does not require schools to offer sex education, but it does require HIV/AIDS prevention instruction.

In sex education containing instruction in human sexuality, the bill would enforce anti-LGBTQ+ ideas into instruction, such as:

• Teaching abstinence from sex outside of marriage as the standard for all students while "teaching the benefits of monogamous heterosexual marriage"

• Requiring every Oklahoma or charter school to adhere to the policy "that a person's sex is an immutable biological trait and that it is false to ascribe to a person's pronoun that does not correspond to the person's sex

The bill would also prohibit endorsing non-heterosexual orientations, such as:

• Endorsement or promotion of "non-heterosexual orientations as preferable to heterosexual orientations"

• Teaching gender identity and gender expression outside the "binary concept of male and female"

• Instruction specifically for exploring gender identity or sexual orientation

• Advocacy of sexual activity outside of marriage

• Advocacy of any form of sexual activity that deviates from the “understanding of sexual norms within a traditional family structure”

HIV/AIDS instruction

The bill also mandates anti-LGBTQ+ teachings in AIDS prevention education, including that engaging in “homosexual activity, promiscuous sexual activity, intravenous drug use or contact with contaminated blood products is now known to be primarily responsible for contact with the AIDS virus.”

The "AIDS virus" is not a scientific term. Human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, is a virus that can lead to AIDS if it's not treated.

The bill also states that sex, with or without condoms, with anyone testing positive for HIV, places a high risk for developing AIDS. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, condoms are highly effective in preventing HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. People with HIV can take antiretroviral therapy to reduce the amount of HIV in their blood, and if their viral load is undetectable, they will not transmit the virus through sex.

HB 3120 would also require school districts to notify a student's parents if there's a change in their services or monitoring related to their mental, emotional or physical health or well-being.

Forced outing

The latest version of the bill doesn't include an exception if the district believes disclosure would result in abuse, which Cindy Nguyen, policy director of ACLU of Oklahoma, said would forcibly out queer students.

If passed, Nguyen said the bill would codify rules passed by the Oklahoma State Board of Education last year, requiring schools to notify a parent if their child changes gender identity or pronouns.

HB 3120 passed committee and now goes to the full Oklahoma House of Representatives.

Here's what Freedom Oklahoma, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, said about the bill on social media:

House Bill 3219: Prohibit birth certificate amendments

Authored by West, HB 3219 would prohibit Oklahomans from amending the biological sex destination on a birth certificate.

The bill would require the sex designation on a birth certificate to be either male or female, and not nonbinary or a symbol representing nonbinary, including the letter "X".

After the bill passed committee, Freedom Oklahoma said on social media LGBTQ+ Oklahomans "deserve the safety to thrive."

House Bill 3214: 'Medical Ethics Act'

Authored by West, HB 3214, or the "Medical Ethics Act" would grant a medical practitioner, healthcare institution or healthcare player the ability to decline a medical procedure that "violates" their conscience.

It would also allow a religious medical practitioner, healthcare institution or healthcare player to make employment, staffing, contracting and admitting privilege decisions consistent with its religious beliefs.

The bill passed committee, and on social media, Nguyen said the bill would impact reproductive and gender-affirming health care.

Senate Bill 1984: Allowing chaplains in schools

Authored by Sen. Shane Jett, R-Shawnee, SB 1984 would allow school districts to contract with a chaplain to perform the duties of a school counselor, and does not require them to meet certification requirements.

The Rev. Shannon Fleck, executive director of the Oklahoma Faith Network, recently told The Oklahoman she's concerned about the high possibility of chaplains proselytizing in public school settings, schools using public funds to hire faith-based chaplains and the bill's lack of chaplain training/certification requirements.

Brian Warfield, Integris Health assistant manager of pastoral care, said he sees the bill as an effort to insert religion in schools.

"I feel like it's kind of another appearance of Christian nationalism ― their model of what the country is supposed to look like," he said.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma legislature: 5 most debated bills targeting LGBTQ+ this year