Arizona: Republican blocks ban on gender-affirming care

NBC Out reported on February 11 that Arizona state Sen. Tyler Pace, a Republican, "effectively killed" SB 1138, a bill that would have banned gender-affirming care for Transgender youth. Pace did so by voting with three Democrats in a committee, bringing the count to 4-4. Pace said during the committee hearing, "The testimonies we heard today about the many people who are using these avenues of medical treatments to save lives, to improve lives — I don't want my vote to stop those great things."

NBC noted the significance of the development, given the broader trend of conservatives pushing for anti-LGBTQ bills, and that Arizona lawmakers have filed the most anti-LGBTQ bills of any state. SB 1138 may have been blocked, but another version, HB 2608, is still on the table in the Arizona legislature.

Florida: Buttigieg responds to "Don't Say Gay"

The Advocate reported February 11 on the response of US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to Florida's "Don't Say Gay" legislation, which if passed would ban schools from encouraging "classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students."

When asked by CNN if the bill was dangerous, Buttigieg replied, "Absolutely. And the reason is that it tells youth who are different that there's something wrong with them out of the gate, and I do think that contributes to the shocking levels of suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts among LGBTQ youth."

Buttigieg went on to say, "Any age where it's appropriate to talk about a kid's mom and dad, then it should be appropriate to talk about a kid's mom and mom or dad and dad or whatever family structure [they] live with. That's part of what it means to be pro-family: to be pro-every family."