Under Hobbs’ executive actions, state agencies will be prohibited from using funds to promote or facilitate conversion therapy, and state employee health insurance plans can no longer list gender-affirming surgery as ineligible for coverage.
In her veto message, Hobbs called Senate Bill 1040 “discriminatory against LGBTQ youth” and pledged to veto every bill that “aims to attack and harm children.”
The bills include another attempt to ban abortion outright, as well as efforts to ban certain books in schools and a proposal to criminalize homelessness.
A lawsuit filed by a group of parents claims the law is discriminatory against their trans daughters by prohibiting them from certain activities based on their gender.
Paul Bixler, a transgender woman on the Liberty Elementary School District board, says she is worried about the Arizona Legislature's anti-trans bills and their effects on schools.
In 2022 alone, more than 240 bills meant to target the LGBTQ community have been filed in state legislatures across the country, usually under the false guise of protecting children.