On Friday, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs rejected three anti-trans bills that cleared the state’s Republican-controlled legislature. One measure would prohibit transgender individuals from updating gender markers on their birth certificates. The other two bills aim to trans people in the higher education and workplace, and continue a broader pattern of attempts to limit their rights in public life. Hobbs positions himself as an enemy of the consistent voice of the anti-transgender agenda pushed right, repeatedly using veto power to block similar efforts during his tenure.
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House Bill 2438 They passed both the Arizona home and the Senate along strict party lines. The law states that “to protect the integrity and accuracy of important records … as a result of sex change surgery, a person’s original birth certificate may not change a person’s sexual designation.” In effect, the bill would have hit language from previous laws that explicitly allow transgender individuals to change gender markers on birth certificates after surgical procedures.
Gov. Hobbs rejected the bill and was issued Next Statement: “Today, I rejected House Bill 2438. This bill does not cut costs, increase opportunities, and does not enhance security or freedom in Arizona. Congress encourages us to focus on real issues that are important and impactful to people’s daily lives.”
The governor also rejected Senate bills 1694 and 1256. SB 1694 They sought to ban state funding from receiving state funding if Arizona’s higher education institutions offered courses related to “diversity, equity and inclusion.” SB 1256 It extended a similar ban to state agencies, effectively banning policies that ensure non-discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. Both measures passed Congress along strict party lines, like the birth certificate bill.
Of the University and University Prohibition, Hobbs was published Next Statement: “Today, I rejected Senate Bill 1694. Our state universities and community colleges will play a key role in developing the workforce in Arizona, improving the economy and enhancing the quality of life through transformational research.
Earlier this year, Hobbs also refused House Bill 2062one of the most drastic anti-transgender proposals introduced in the state. The law would have effectively erased trans people from Arizona’s legal perception. If it were to become law, it would cause a ban on changing gender markers on driver’s licenses, rewind existing non-discriminatory protections and set the stage for wider legal exclusions.
Gov. Hobbs has been a long time LGBTQ+All. In 2023, the governor signed Presidential Order It ensures that state employee health plans cover gender-affirming surgeries for transgender people. She also signed Presidential Order She banned conversion therapy, which she defined as a therapy designed to “change an individual’s nonheteroregular sexual orientation or nonscientist identity,” including those that “work under the therapies that work under the false premise that homosexuality and gender diversity are pathological.”
While Arizona Republicans remain unified in their push to pass anti-trans laws, Gov. Katie Hobbs used her veto to stop those efforts at the finish line. Since taking office, she has positioned herself as the ultimate line of defense against a legislative agenda aimed at rolling back LGBTQ+ rights. And this year, none of these bills become law. The Republican doesn’t have the necessary votes to override her veto.
This article was originally published Morning Erin.
Source: Advocate.com – www.advocate.com
