Shadowy Proper Wing Group One Step Nearer to Overturning Arizona Metropolis’s New LGBTQ Civil Rights Protections

Arizona House and Senate lawmakers have passed laws prohibiting students from teaching about “sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression” without first signing a parent’s permission.

That means teaching about the artist and Renaissance man Leonardo da Vinci, the astronaut Sally Ride, the founder of computer science, Alan Turing, or the late First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt – all LGBTQ – requires a signed consent from a student’s parents.

In addition, if Republican Governor Doug Ducey signs Law SB 1456, sex education will also be banned until students reach fifth grade. According to this, any teaching on “sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression” requires “written consent from a student’s parent or guardian”.

The bill is so poorly written that a simple read means that any teaching or discussion of sexual orientation requires prior parental consent. Sexual orientation includes heterosexuality, which means that any teaching, for example, about heterosexual marriages.

The bill updates applicable law as follows: “A public education institution must obtain signed written consent from a student’s parent or guardian prior to… SEXUAL EDUCATION OR GUIDANCE ON SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER IDENTITY, OR GENDER EXPRESSION TO THE STUDENT. IF THE PUBLIC EDUCATION INSTITUTION AGREES, IT WILL AT THE SAME TIME NOTIFY THE STUDENT’S PARENTS OR GUARDIANS OF THE PARENTS OR GUARDS ‘RIGHT TO REVIEW THE INSTRUCTIONS AND ACTIVITIES. “

Written approval also required: any teaching on HIV / AIDS.

The ACLU says the legislation stigmatizes LGBTQ students:

Two years ago we hoped that Arizona legislation would take a step away from bigoted measures like Arizona’s “No Promo Homo” law, which harmed and stigmatized LGBTQ students.

Unfortunately we were wrong. pic.twitter.com/j3r2xkEeqc

– ACLU of Arizona (@ACLUaz) April 14, 2021

The bill may be unconstitutional and likely to violate Biden’s administrative policies, which means the Department of Education could sue the state and withhold education funding.

This is breaking news and a developing story. Details can change.

Image: Eleanor Roosevelt with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights poster, Lake Success, New York. November 1949. Photo by FDR Presidential Library & Museum via Flickr and under a CC license