Arizona House upholds parental rights with pronoun bill

The Arizona House moved forward a bill that would require parental permission before school officials change a child’s preferred gender pronouns.

The bill, which was approved by the House Appropriations Committee along party lines in a 9-6 vote, has already been approved by the Senate and now moves to the full House for a debate and a vote, said the Arizona Capitol Times.

“The children belong to the parents,’’ said Rep. Matt Gress, an openly gay Republican lawmaker, according to Tuscon.com. “Parents have rights when it comes to their kids. They do. And to sever that relationship through public schools or other institutions, very serious.’’

Rep. John Kavanagh, who sponsored the bill, said the proposed law was an attempt to get the children the support and help they need. 

It would be “unconscionable” to keep parents “willfully blind” to a child’s gender confusion, he said, according to the Arizona Capitol Times.

“If your kid wants to go on a school trip, they need permission from the parents,” Kavanagh said in committee debate. “If your child wants to be on a sports team, they need permission from the parents. If your child wants to take an aspirin in school, they need permission from the parents.”

Kavanagh said that a child may already be undergoing counseling with parental support and a counselor may have recommended that a child not be referred to by a pronoun other than the one the child had at birth.

He also added that by changing a child’s pronoun solely at the child’s request, and not notifying parents, may make the school liable in the case of a child’s suicide or other self-harm over the gender dysphoria.

Other members of the GOP said the bill ensures that parental rights are respected.

“The child belongs to the parent, not the government,’’ said Rep. Theresa Martinez, according to Tuscon.com. “I cannot imagine having to co-parent my child with the government.’’

However, the bill does contain a loophole of sorts, allowing a teacher to use discretion for “religious and moral” reasons in honoring a child’s request on pronouns without notifying parents, said the Mesa Independent. 

“We’re trying to balance the rights of two parties,” said Kavanagh.

If the bill passes the state House and heads to the governor’s desk, Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs has signaled she will veto it.

Her chief of staff said via Twitter that the bill would be “DOA” in the governor’s office, before it was even approved by the state Senate.