'Attack' on children: Arizona governor vetoes 'discriminatory' transgender bathroom bill

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs (D) vetoed a bill Thursday meant to prevent public school students from using bathrooms and locker rooms designated for the opposite sex.

"SB 1040 is yet another discriminatory act against LGBTQ+ youth passed by the majority at the state legislature," wrote Gov. Hobbs in a letter to Arizona state Senator Warren Peterson Thursday.

"As I stated in my veto letter for SB1001, I will veto every bill that aims to attack and harm children."

Senate Bill 1040 would have required schools to provide other accommodations for transgender students who felt uncomfortable using the facilities that correspond with their biological sex.

Those accommodations, however, would not involve providing access to bathrooms or changing rooms that match the child's gender identity while children of the opposite sex are present, as explained in the Hill.

In addition, the bill would have allowed families to sue if their children encountered a student of the opposite sex in a bathroom, changing facility, or sleeping quarters.

"Women and young girls deserve privacy and their own protected bathrooms, showers and locker rooms where they can have such privacy and are safe from the risk of sexual harassment or sexual violence," Arizona state Senator John Kavanaugh, the bill's sponsor, said in a statement acquired by the Tuscon Sentinel.

"Unfortunately, Democrat Legislators and Governor Hobbs are catering to an extremist culture by pushing 'gender neutrality' as a means to win political points from their liberal base while stealing dignity away from women and girls in the process," Sen. Kavanaugh also said.

Hobbs' predecessor, Gov. Doug Ducey (R) signed two bills in March 2022 related to transgender students, as reported by the Hill. One barred transgender athletes from competing on teams that do not match their biological sex. The other restricted health care professionals from conducting irreversible, transgender-related surgery and other medical interventions on children.

Gov. Hobbs vetoed four other bills the same day she vetoed SB1040, a feat that nearly doubles the previous record for other Arizona governors, according to the Washington Examiner.

The previous record was held by Gov. Janet Napolitano, also a Democrat. Like Napolitano, Hobbs is serving at a time when Republicans hold a majority in both the state's House and Senate, as the Arizona Mirror reported.

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