Drummond praises decision protecting children from 'gender transition' procedures

OKLAHOMA CITY (Aug. 7, 2025) – Attorney General Gentner Drummond today praised a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit that protects Oklahoma children from so-called “gender transition” procedures.

The Oklahoma Legislature established the ban with Senate Bill 613, which was signed into law in May 2023. It was quickly challenged in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma and Attorney General Drummond has successfully fought for the past two years to keep the ban in place.  

“My office mounted a vigorous defense of this commonsense law to protect children, and I am grateful the battle is now won,” Drummond said. “Thanks to this critical victory, our children will no longer be subjected to the lifelong consequences of these damaging procedures.”

The Northern District of Oklahoma upheld Senate Bill 613 in October 2023, finding that the plaintiffs “failed to show a likelihood of success on the merits of each of their constitutional claims.” The Tenth Circuit then abated the plaintiffs’ appeal in anticipation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision concerning a similar Tennessee law in United States v. Skrmetti. The Supreme Court issued its decision on Skrmetti in June, upholding Tennessee’s law against an equal protection challenge. Yesterday, relying on Skrmetti, the Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision. Among other things, the Tenth Circuit found that “no evidence exists” that Oklahoma’s Legislature enacted Senate Bill 613 “as a pretext to invidiously discriminate against transgender minors.”