Action Alert | SB 1138 and HB 2011
Take action to stop anti-LGBTQ bills moving through the Arizona Legislature
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Just three days into the 2022 legislative session, two anti-LGBTQ bills have already been assigned to committee: SB 1138 and HB 2011. Both of these bills target critical support systems for LGBTQ youth, and the speed with which they are moving suggests that there is real momentum to get these bills passed. We need to make it clear from the start that these bills are disingenuous, discriminatory, and damaging to the state of Arizona as a whole.
About the Bills:
SB 1138 (Sponsor: Senator Warren Petersen): this bill puts the focus on physicians and health care professionals, barring them from providing or making referrals for “gender transition procedures to any individual who is under eighteen years of age.” This would block access to gender affirming surgeries, hormone therapy, and even puberty blockers. Exceptions are made for minors with diagnosed intersex conditions, as we saw in the comparable SB 1045, one of the bills we highlighted in our legislative session preview.
HB 2011 (Sponsor: Representative John Kavanagh). Another of the bills featured in our legislative preview, HB 2011 would require parental opt-in for students to join school groups or clubs “involving sexuality, gender or gender identity.” This catch-all language would put GSA clubs in the crosshairs. Kids need community support, and for LGBTQ kids, a GSA can be one of the best ways to feel accepted in their school. This bill would reclassify those support systems as objectionable content.
What these bills do, whether or not they pass, is introduce the idea of a threat into conversations about how best to take care of our LGBTQ kids. In SB 1138, the threat is physical change, supervised by a doctor (notably an experience many kids share when they go through puberty). In HB 2011, the threats are topics some parents might not think their kids are ready to engage with. If our response doesn’t go any further than “these bills are the real threat,” it starts to look like that idea is correct, and the question of care turns into a question of harm. What we’ve seen is that this causes people to disengage, polarizing the dialogue and drowning out the day-to-day realities of our lives. We can do better, and that starts by assuming the best intentions of everyone. The reality is, we all care about our kids, and we should have access to a diversity of resources for them. Bills that target healthcare providers or community support systems rob Arizona of those resources.
What You Can Do Right Now
So far, neither of these bills has been scheduled for a hearing, which means the best thing you can do to stop them is to contact the members of the committees they’ve been assigned to directly. Take the time to read and understand each bill, and then call or email the committee members to encourage them not to move forward with legislation that would take options away from Arizona’s families and make our state inhospitable to the teachers, school counselors, and health care providers our kids rely on.
SB 1138 has been assigned to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee:
Nancy Barto (Chairman): nbarto@azleg.gov | (602) 926-5766
Rosanna Gabaldon: rgabaldon@azleg.gov | (602) 926-3424
Sally Ann Gonzales: sgonzales@azleg.gov | (602) 926-3278
Tyler Pace (Vice-Chairman): tpace@azleg.gov | (602) 926-5760
Wendy Rogers: wrogers@azleg.gov | (602) 926-3042
Thomas Shope: tshope@azleg.gov | (602) 926-3012
Raquel Terán: rteran@azleg.gov | (602) 926-3308
Kelly Townsend: ktownsend@azleg.gov | (602) 926-4467
HB 2011 has been assigned to the House Education Committee:
Lupe Diaz: ldiaz@azleg.gov | (602) 926-4852
John M. Fillmore: jfillmore@azleg.gov | (602) 926-3187
Daniel Hernandez, Jr. dhernandez@azleg.gov | (602) 926-4840
Joel John: jjohn@azleg.gov | (602) 926-3276
Quang H. Nguyen: qnguyen@azleg.gov | (602) 926-3258
Jennifer Pawlik: jpawlik@azleg.gov | (602) 926-3193
Beverly Pingerelli (Vice-Chairman): bpingerelli@azleg.gov | (602) 926-3396
Judy Schwiebert: jschweibert@azleg.gov | (602) 926-3390
Myron Tsosie: mtsosie@azleg.gov | (602) 926-3157
Michelle Udall (Chairman): mudall@azleg.gov | (602) 926-4856
Live Policy Briefing | Friday, January 14 @ 5:00 PM
This Friday, we’ll be hosting a webinar to discuss these bills and give an overview of where things stand after the first week of the session. Make sure to register in advance, and please bring any questions you might have!