‘Big whoop’: This advocate is not impressed by Hobbs’ anti-LGBTQ legislation vetoes

Anti-LGBTQ legislation is progressing in state houses across the nation, but in Arizona, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed almost every bill that made it to her desk—except for one related to pornography. 

Despite her consistency, Kelley Dupps, inclusive policy director at Education Action Alliance, an advocacy group that promotes inclusivity in youth education (formerly GLSEN Arizona), thinks Hobbs has only done the bare minimum to protect the LGBTQ community. 

“The bills that she vetoed, she [has] vetoed them every session,” Dupps said in an interview with The Copper Courier. “Big whoop.”

Across the US, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is tracking 588 anti-LGBTQ bills, and over 50 of those have been passed into law. 

“I would hope that the majority party would see that they’re not going to go anywhere and that they wouldn’t waste time, energy, and taxpayer dollars on trying to pass them,” said Bridget Sharpe, deputy director of regional and state campaigns at the Human Rights Campaign, in an interview. 

In Arizona, 8 have passed through the state legislature, all introduced by Republican lawmakers. The Republican legislative agenda aimed at rolling back LGBTQ rights in the state has consistently met Hobbs’ veto pen since she took office in 2023. Some of those bills include measures like House Bill 2438 and House Bill 2062, which would have banned transgender Arizonans from updating their birth certificate to reflect their affirmed gender and ended all legal recognition of trans people in the state, respectively.  

READ MORE: Continued state-level attacks on LGBTQ+ Arizonans fall in line with Trump’s executive orders

Hobbs has long been considered an ally. Some of her first actions as governor were signing an executive order ensuring state employee healthcare plans include coverage for gender affirming care and banning conversion therapy.

Is Hobbs a reliable protector of LGBTQ Arizonans?

Now, the only line of defense between the Republican lawmakers’ proposed anti-LGBTQ legislation and Arizona law is Hobbs.

Without her, Arizona could expect the same type of actions taken by former Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, Sharpe said. He signed the anti-trans sports bill into law banning transgender youth from participating in women’s sports. 

In Sharpe’s view, Hobbs is standing steady with the LGBTQ community.

“As we move into this next election cycle, she’s [Hobbs] really just joining a chorus of leaders who refuse to abandon our community,” Sharpe said. 

Even though Hobbs vetoed a majority of the anti-LGBTQ bills, she did sign one controversial bill that has the potential to classify LGBTQ content as pornographic, effectively banning LGBTQ youth from accessing it. 

House Bill 2112 requires websites that contain more than one-third of “sexual material” to verify the user’s age, in particular for all sites that have “sexual material that is harmful to minors.” However, it does not specify what kind of material could be construed as harmful. 

“We all share this common goal of making sure pornography is not in the hands of young people,” Dupps said. “This age verification bill did nothing to prevent that.” 

With HB2112 on the books, the educational information that organizations like Education Action Alliance put online could be deemed pornographic or harmful to minors as the law is so broad, it’s not clear what constitutes material to be harmful. 

“She can exploit all the letters that are in LGBTQ to get reelected, but the fact is, she’s not a champion,” Dupps said. “A champion would have called out how harmful these types of bills are.”

While Dupps believes Hobbs’ signage of HB2112 was a blow to LGBTQ Arizonans, Education Action Alliance applauded the Governor for her vetoes of the larger series of harmful anti-trans bills.

Many far-right lawmakers use these anti-LGBTQ bills as a vehicle for their own ambition to get into public office and bring in campaign donations, Dupps said. 

But when elections come around and the other choice is a candidate like Andy Biggs, a staunchly anti-LGBTQ Republican congressman challenging Hobbs for governor, it’s clear who the better candidate would be for the LGBTQ community, Dupps said.