Bills a ecting transgender youth wind through Arizona Legislature

Eryka Forquer

Cronkite

News

After an unprecedented number of bills targeting transgender youth became law across the country last year, advocates in Arizona are pushing back against a new wave of bills introduced in this session.

Arizona lawmakers have proposed bills that prohibit transgender youth from recieving gender-a rming health care and limit their ability to express their gender identity in school bathrooms, school classrooms and school sports. The Human Rights Campaign and the Equality Federation, which are national LGBTQ advocacy organizations, warned that the measures would put the well-being of transgender youth at risk.

The following was added in order to update after the initial story was published.

[On March, 24, the Arizona House passed Senate Bill 1138, which bans some types of medical care for transgender youth, and Senate Bill 1165, which prevents transgender students from participating in school sports. The bills went to Gov. Doug Ducey’s desk for signature or veto. He signed them into law on March 30, a day before the International Trans Day of Visibility.]

“Transgender students don’t want or need to have a culture war built on their backs for the political expediecy of adults; they simply want to be kids,” the two organizations said in their combined annual state comprehensive report, released this year.

That’s why Jennifer Brown, a Scottsdale mother of a transgender daughter, is opposing Senate Bill 1165, which would prevent transgender girls in grades K-12 from playing on girls sports teams.

“These are just kids, and they just want to play” sports, Brown said. “This isn’t about scholarships, this isn’t about big money. This is about kids trying to be part of a team and trying to be as normal as humanly possible.”

For transgender youth, sports teams often provide a source of normalcy during a time when they are transitioning, Brown said. It’s where their friends and teammates are, and for many LGBTQ youth, sports are an outlet that supports their mental health.

A 2021 national survey by the Trevor Project, a nonprofit organization focused on suicide prevention for LGBTQ youth, found that 42% of people ages 13 to 24 who identify as LGBTQ considered suicide in the previous year. The rate increased to 52% for transgender and nonbinary youth.

“There are real consequences to the discrimination perpetrated upon LGBTQ+ people, and particularly transgender youth,” Bridget Sharpe, the Arizona state director of the Human Rights Campaign, said during a virtual event this month with parents of transgender youth in Arizona, noting that “55% of LGBTQ+ Arizonans have reported that they’ve su ered from depression in just the past two weeks alone.”

The Williams Institute at UCLA, which conducts research on sexual orientation and gender identity, estimated in September 2020 that 3,650 youth ages 13 to 17 identified as transgender in Arizona. A 2017 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that almost 2% of high school students identify as transgender and 35% of transgender students attempt suicide.

“Trans folks need to be believed and they need to be seen and heard,” Brown said. “You have to take it for what they are, for what they tell you they are. So if a trans girl says she’s a trans girl, then she’s a girl.”

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Liminal

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Who To Call

Regional Resources

Navajo Nation Pride

The historic & largest Indigenous Pride celebration in the country. Honoring LGBTQIA+ relatives and rea rming the sacredness of their identities.

 Contact:505-569-1516 www.navajonationpride.com

Arizona Trans Youth & Parents Organization (AZTYPO)

Arizona Trans Youth and Parent Organization is a support group to empower children, teens and their families in a supportive and inclusive environment in which gender may be freely expressed and respected. A family support group for families with gender diverse children. AZTYPO provides a supportive environment for children, adolescents, and their families to explore issues of gender identity.

 Contact: contact@aztypo.org www.aztypo.org/

Greater Yavapai County Coalition

A non-partisan organization that provides an umbrella of support to members, family, friends and allies of the LGBTQ+ community by referring to a range of inclusive services, support, activities, and community connections.

 Contact:303 E. Gurley St., #441, Prescott, AZ 928-583-3514 www.az-gycc.org

NAZGEM

Looking for Transgender support? NAZGEM is Northern Arizona’s Gender Mentors Network. NAZGEM hosts free monthly support meetings every fourth Friday at 7 p.m. and shares resources, support and information all month long!

 Contact: 216 E. Gurley St. Prescott, AZ 86301 gyccinfo@gmail.com

Northland Cares

To improve the quality of life of those infected by HIV/AIDS in Northern Arizona.

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Sedona Pride

At Sedona Pride, we support our LGBTQ community one person at a time.

 Contact: 480-712-8005 www.SedonaPride.org

Granite Peak Unitarian Universalist Congregation Rev. Patty Willis, Minister (and Wedding O ciant). Where all are welcomed, encouraged and nurtured… a welcoming congregation and event site.

 National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-TALK (8253). Veterans press 1.

 Text TALK to 741741. Text with a trained counselor from the crisis text line for free 24/7.

 The Trevor Project, Trevor lifeline available 24/7. 1-866-488-7386.

 Trans Lifeline. Support for transgender people by transgender people. 1-877-565-8860.

 SAGE LGBT Elder Care Hotline. Peer support and local resources for older adults. 1-888-843-LGBT (5428).

 The LGBT National Hotline. Peer support and local resources for all ages. 1-888-843-4564.