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 measures include efforts to protect LGBTQ community organizations from threats and releasing funds for new programs that will support the physical and mental health of LGBTQ youth.
The bill’s signing comes as Democrats and LGBTQ advocates have expressed growing fear over the possibility that the landmark 2015 Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges—which legalized gay marriage nationwide—could be overturned following the Court’s decision to strike down Roe v. Wade earlier this year.
The Respect for Marriage Act does not require states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, but it does require states that ban same-sex marriages to recognize these marriages as long as the marriage was valid in the state where it was performed.
As Republican lawmakers and right-wing media figures have singled out the LGBTQ community with hateful rhetoric, children’s hospitals have faced bomb threats, armed extremist groups have targeted drag-related events, and LGBTQ individuals have been assaulted and now murdered in a mass shooting that left five dead.
