Matthew Holloway from AZ Free News reported on SB1002, a Center for Arizona Policy (CAP)-supported bill advancing through the Arizona legislature. Sponsored by Senator John Kavanagh (LD-3), the legislation would prevent schools from using names or pronouns different from a student’s biological sex without parental consent, while protecting employees from being forced to violate their religious convictions. Holloway writes:
Sen. Kavanagh said that his bill “has to do with school staff and teachers using a pronoun or a nickname for a student that is not aligned with that student’s biological sex. The bill says that no school personnel can call a student by such an inappropriate pronoun or nickname unless the parents consent. And in addition when the parents do consent, no school employee can be forced to call the person by the pronoun that does not align with their biological sex if it violates the employee’s religious or moral beliefs.”
This legislation protects two fundamental principles: parents’ right to direct their children’s upbringing and education, and the religious freedom of school employees. These protections align with CAPs commitment to parental rights and religious liberty.
“This is important because students that want to be called by a different name or pronoun than their biological sex, or so-called transgendered students, many of them have a condition called gender dysphoria, which causes a lot of anxiety, sometimes even suicidal thoughts… Parents may know about this and may have the child under psychiatric care and the child’s doctor may have told the parents do not entertain a different pronoun or name that’s different from the from the child’s real sex because it could harm the child.”
Senator Kavanagh’s explanation highlights the serious medical considerations surrounding gender identity issues in young people. SB 1002 appropriately places responsibility with parents, who have the most complete understanding of their child’s needs, while reinforcing Arizona’s Parental Bill of Rights.
Read the full story here.