On Monday afternoon, the Arizona House Appropriations Committee advanced a bill that puts restrictions on the use of preferred pronouns in schools.
SB 1001 prohibits teachers or other school employees from referring to a student by a pronoun that differs from their biological sex without parent permission.
During a special committee meeting Monday, members heard testimony from several residents who argued that the bill puts students in danger, because not all households are accepting of trans youth. Bill sponsor, Sen. John Kavanagh (R-Fountain Hills), pushed back on that.
“I don’t think you can assume that when a parent finds out about this, that they’re gonna suddenly attack the kid, harass the kid, throw the kid out of the house,” Kavanagh said. “I think most parents will support the child and try to get help if it’s needed.”
“This is my lived experience since I was 5 years old. That’s when I knew.” Stop what you are doing and watch Rep. @LorenaAustin4Az’s 🔥 vote explanation on SB1001, the GOP’s hateful & dangerous “pronoun” bill. Austin is Arizona’s first non-binary, non gender-conforming lawmaker. pic.twitter.com/GdovkoTi3c
— Arizona House Democrats (@AZHouseDems) April 3, 2023
Democratic Rep. Lorena Austin (Mesa) responded to those comments before voting “ no.”
“Another teacher texted me that they had a student come out to them, they told their parents, and they were kicked out of their home," Austin said. “So this assumption, that you just don’t think families will have this reaction is absolutely, unequivocally false.”
Kavanagh added that the bill does not require a school employee to out the child to their parents. The committee passed it by a vote of 9-6. The bill now heads to the house floor.
