Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, on Tuesday vetoed bills that would have codified definitions of biological sex and allowed public school teachers to read or have a copy of the Ten Commandments in their classrooms.
The measure drew criticism from the state Senate Republican caucus, who said Hobbs is “forsaking God” and that laws “must be based on objective reality and uniform for all Arizonans.”
“Instead of helping these confused boys and men, Democrats are only fueling dysfunction by pretending that biological sex doesn’t matter,” Republican Senate President Warren Petersen said in a statement. “Our daughters, granddaughters, nieces and neighbors are growing up in a dangerous time where they live with a higher risk of being victimized in public bathrooms, showers and locker rooms because Democrats are now welcoming biological men to what used to be traditionally safe spaces differentiated by sex.
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Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed bills related to gender and schools. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)
SB 1628, called the “Arizona Women’s Bill of Rights,” would have made the definition of biological sexes, whether male or female only, “objective and fixed.” It would exclude gender identity “or any other term intended to convey a person’s subjective sense of self and cannot be used as a synonym or substitute for the term sex.”
It would also have maintained single-sex spaces “to ensure the protection and privacy of girls and women in those spaces, without changing current law or creating new restrictions on anyone’s legal rights,” according to the Republican Caucus.
“As I have said time and time again, I will not sign legislation that attacks Arizonans,” Hobbs said in a letter explaining his veto.
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Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed a bill that would allow the Ten Commandments in Arizona public school classrooms.
Another bill in the Arizona State Senate, SB 1151, would have amended state law to allow educators or administrators of any school to read or post in any school building copies or excerpts of the Ten Commandments.
Hobbs wrote on it veto letter that he had “serious concerns” about the constitutionality of the bill and called it “unnecessary.”
“I am appalled that the state’s top elected official is abandoning God and the foundation upon which our country was built by not allowing teachers to expose their students to the morals and ethics outlined in the Ten Commandments,” said the Sen. Anthony Kern, one of the bill’s sponsors, said in a statement. “When children are exposed to good, noble, honest and upright ideas, they are more likely to be better human beings with healthy character, able to face life’s problems with grace and are more likely to treat each other with respect and dignity. throughout life.”
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Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs delivers her State of the State address at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix on January 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
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During Hobbs’ tenure as governor so far, she has reaffirmed her support for LGBTQ+ issues. Hobbs signed an executive order making gender transition surgeries and hormones covered by state health care plans last year.
