Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs hung Trans & LGBTQ+ Pride flags on the balcony of the historic state Capitol building June 28, 2019. (Courtesy of Arizona Secretary of State’s Office)
The discriminatory bills – totaling nine to date, according to the Human Rights Campaign – mirror much of the anti-LGBTQ bills introduced last year around the country, in what was a record year for legislation attacking the LGBTQ community, particularly transgender people.
Three of the bills – Senate Bill 1130, which would ban gender-affirming care for minors; Senate Bill 1165, an anti-trans sports bill; and House Bill 2112, which could prohibit the teaching of racism and sex discrimination, are set for committee meetings this week.
Senate Bill 1130 was introduced by Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers, who – as the Blade reported last year – is an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump and a member of the far-right antigovernment militia organization Oath Keepers.
Other bills would limit gender markers on official documentation to only “male” and “female,” make educators only use incorrect pronouns for students if it differs from their birth certificate and force students to get written permission to join clubs involving gender identity or sexuality.
“This is an attack on human rights,” said Arizona state Rep. César Chávez, chairman of the Arizona LGBTQ Legislative Caucus, at a press conference hosted by the HRC. “We’re criminalizing individuals for being who they are. On top of that, we’re criminalizing doctors and health care workers, individuals that are doing their job.”
Sponsors of these bills say that they will benefit their communities and protect women and children. However, Chávez accused the Republican party of wanting to “attack our youth and those individuals who identify as LGBT+.”
Lizette Trujillo, a parent of a trans child in Tucson, Arizona, detailed the toll that the proposed legislation takes on her son and her family.
“Legislators in our state are wielding their power to leverage the most vulnerable youth in our state to further their political careers,” she said, adding “This causes irreparable harm on the transgender community.”
She also had an urgent message for members of her community. “Help us stop power-hungry legislators in this blatant attack,” she said. “Help us stop our government from using parents like me and kids like mine as their political pawns. Transgender kids exist – protect them, believe them, support them and affirm them.”
Trujillo, who is also a member of the HRC Foundation’s Parents for Transgender Equality National Council, has become accustomed to the fight for her son’s rights. In 2019, the HRC featured her for “leading the charge” for LGBTQ-inclusive education within the Tucson Unified School District.
Arizona is no stranger to anti-LGBTQ bills. Last year, state lawmakers sent an anti-LGBTQ education bill to Republican Gov. Doug Ducey’s desk. But he ended up vetoing the bill, calling it “broad and overly vague.”
Now, pro-LGBTQ lawmakers and activists in the state are readying to push back against such legislation.
According to Bridget Sharpe of HRC Arizona, the group plans to show up to the statehouse and testify against the anti-LGBTQ legislation. She said that is the best way to get results. They will make their first appearance Thursday, where Trujillo will be a speaker.
Chávez wants to have conversations with his colleagues across the aisle, noting that it has “become a rarity here in the Arizona State Legislature,” but that they are “very meaningful.”
“I will say that it’s going to take political will from my Republican colleagues to be able to vote against these bills,” he said.
