(LA Blade) Two proposed laws would have the potential to inflict considerable harm on young transgender Arizonans and the medical professionals who treat them LGBT activists say.
The author of both proposed measures is Republican state Senator Wendy Rogers (R-SD6), an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump and a member of the Oath Keepers, an anti-government militia organization whose members took part in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. This past Fall in October 2021, Rogers spoke at a QAnon-linked political conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Rogers first measure, Senate Bill 1045 would prohibit medical procedures that affirm the gender identity of children and teens who are transgender. The law would ban medical professionals in Arizona from performing gender-affirming surgeries on Trans minors and also would forbid prescribing testosterone to Trans male youth or estrogen to Trans female youth who are under 18. Any Health professional found guilty would be convicted as a Class 4 felony offender, with a prison sentence of one to three years.
Her second measure, Senate Bill 1046 would restrict transgender children from participating in sports at public and private schools, community colleges and universities. The measure would divide all interscholastic and intramural sports teams into male, female and co-ed teams “based on biological sex.”
Under that definition, the measure prohibits transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports. It would also mandate a medical review of a student’s anatomy, hormone levels and genetics if the student’s biological sex is disputed while seeking to participate in sports programs at public and private schools, community colleges and state universities.
State Representative Daniel Hernandez, (D-HD2), a member of the Arizona Legislative LGBTQ Caucus told the Blade Wednesday, “State Senator Rogers is using her power to target the most vulnerable children in our communities. The discriminatory and unjust efforts to stop transgender youth from receiving medical care show Senator Rogers is trying to get in between patients, their doctors and their families. She once again is trying to ban our children from participating in school sports based on nothing more than hate. It pains me to see another attack made on the transgender community.”
Speaking to the Arizona Mirror, a local Arizona media outlet, Ryan Starzyk, a board member of Phoenix Pride noted; “It is dangerous and it is deadly because if [children] don’t have the foundational information, if they have nobody they can turn and oftentimes is the only one they can turn to is the professional at school before, [the legislature] is laying the foundation for students suicides.”
The Arizona Interscholastic Association has policies and guidelines in place that govern trans youth participation in sports across the state: “All students should have the opportunity to participate in Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) activities in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity, irrespective of the sex listed on a student’s eligibility for participation in interscholastic athletics or in a gender that does not match the sex at birth.”
Rogers has a history of anti-LGBT animus. In October she expressed her extreme displeasure over a new comic book storyline debuted by DC Comics-Warner Brothers Media on National Coming Out Day.
“Superman loves Louis Lane. Period. Hollywood is trying to make Superman gay and he is not. Just rename the new version Thooperman so we can all know the difference and avoid seeing it,” Rogers tweeted.
Commenters on social media were quick to point out that in the DC Multiverse canon it is "Lois Lane not Louis while others took umbrage with her use of the word ‘Thooperman,’" labeling it an offensive phonetic characterization of a stereotyped gay man’s lisping in speech patterns.
Starzyk is opposed to SB1046. He said it reminds him of the bullying he constantly faced in the military for being gay.
“The legislators are bullying our youth, the same way I was bullied in the military,” he said. “It’s heartbreaking to see that instead of encouraging our young people who are finding themselves sooner, the legislature is classifying our young future generation as not being good enough.”
Starzyk told the Arizona Mirror that youth should be celebrated for affirming their gender identity, instead of being deprived of an important opportunity for growth that sports provide.
“We should be embracing that as a society, to know who you are at such a young age,” Starzyk said. “Years ago you couldn’t even be yourself.” He added that Rogers has “some radical view of the gay community.”
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