Arizona Rep. Lorena Austin got personal on the House floor while fighting HB 2249, a Republican-sponsored bill that would have required teachers to get parental consent before using a different name or pronouns for transgender or nonbinary students—exposing them to lawsuits if they didn’t comply.
Austin, who is nonbinary, shared that they didn’t come out until adulthood because they knew growing up that their identity “wouldn’t be accepted.”
HB 2249 passed the Legislature but was vetoed by Gov. Katie Hobbs on June 19.
