Spencer Harvey

GLAAD celebrates the passage of Senate Bill 1346, which would eliminate the stigma of being LGBTQ in the state’s education curriculum – including courses covering HIV and AIDS. The bill overwhelmingly passed in both the state’s House and Senate chambers and was quickly signed into law today by Republican Governor Doug Ducey. 

Before today’s vote, Arizona state law forbade any proactive and positive conversation on the LGBTQ community in classrooms. Arizona was one of seven states in the nation to have this anti-LGBTQ policy in state law – until today. Senate Bill 1346’s. passage now advances LGBTQ acceptance in the state, which currently has about 249,000 Arizonans identifying as LGBTQ.

“Arizona students should never be taught to hate a marginalized group, and LGBTQ youth should never be subject to harassment, discrimination, or erasure just because of who they are,” said Zeke Stokes, Chief Programs Officer for GLAAD. “We applaud today’s strong, bipartisan action that sends a message of love and acceptance to LGBTQ youth.”

Arizona Republican State Senator Kate Brophy McGee added, “It has been an honor to work alongside my good friend Daniel Hernandez on LGBTQ legislation for the past two years.  This repeal is a huge step forward and could not have happened without Daniel’s resolute leadership.  We worked together with so many others in a truly bipartisan manner to get this done. It is a joyful new day for Arizonans.”

Arizona Republican State Representative TJ Shope said, “I was proud to be a part of a positive effort to change Arizona law in order to make all students feel more welcomed in Arizona’s classrooms. In sponsoring the amendment to SB 1343 that repealed A.R.S. 15-716, we have not only moved our state forward, we have also saved our state’s taxpayers countless amounts of dollars defending the indefensible. I was proud to work on this with my friend, Rep. Daniel Hernandez, and I hope this leads us to more bipartisan efforts in all of the issues we face as a state.”

“The repeal of No Promo Homo is not a victory for one person or for one group. This is something that all of us share in because we were able to come together in a bipartisan way to ensure that Arizona students never have to feel like they stigmatized for who they are,” said Arizona State Representative Daniel Hernandez.