GOP bill barring preferred pronoun use in Arizona schools passes Senate
Arizona Republican lawmakers on Wednesday unanimously backed a measure that critics warn would harm trans students, ignoring pleas from parents and students to reject it, and in spite of its unconstitutionality and guaranteed veto.
“This bill violates trust, eliminates the only safe haven some students have and allows bigotry in the name of religion,” the mother of a trans student wrote in a letter imploring lawmakers to defeat the proposal. “Let’s not be the state that willingly harms already disenfranchised students.”
The anonymous letter, along with several others, were read by Democratic lawmakers on the Senate floor in opposition to Senate Bill 1001, which passed on a 16-12 vote, supported only by Republicans. The bill bans the use of preferred pronouns inconsistent with a student’s biological sex, or names that aren’t rooted in the one that appears on official school documents.
Written parental permission would be required to circumvent those rules, but even that would be no guarantee: Teachers who have a “religious or moral conviction” would be allowed to defy that request.
https://www.azmirror.com/2023/03/02/gop-bill-barring-preferred-pronoun-use-in-arizona-schools-passes-senate/
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