AZ Gov Vetoes Hate Group’s Anti-LGBT Education Bill

The Arizona Republic reports:

Gov. Doug Ducey vetoed a controversial sex education bill but issued an executive order requiring public notice of any such curriculum before it can be used in Arizona classrooms.

The dual actions appeared to be a compromise between the provisions of Senate Bill 1456 and critics who said it would marginalize LGBTQ children by, among other things, banning discussion of issues related to gay and trans history.

Ducey called the bill “broad and overly vague” as he issued only his second veto of the legislative session. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Nancy Barto, R-Phoenix. It had strong GOP support but equally strong opposition from Democrats.

Read the full article.

As I reported last week:

The measure pushed by a powerful social conservative group is framed as a parental rights issue and would require schools to get parents’ permission for discussions about gender identity, sexual orientation or HIV/AIDS in sex education classes.

Schools also would need parents to sign off on their children learning about historical events involving sexual orientation, such as a discussion of the modern gay rights movement that sprang from the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York.

The bill is largely the work of the anti-LGBT Center for Arizona Policy, which was behind a successful 2010 bill that banned same-sex marriage. A similar anti-LGBT education bill advanced early this month in Tennessee. Arizona already requires parents to opt-in on sex education. The new bill would have, in effect, required a second opt-in to include LGBT issues.