NE Valley Times

Arizona State Sen. John Kavanagh (R-3) today criticized Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-Ariz.) after Hobbs vetoed Kavanagh’s bill that would have, among other things, “prohibited a school district or charter school from knowingly referring to students under the age of 18 by a pronoun that differs from the child's biological sex.”

"Parents have a right to know if their children are in psychological turmoil. Parents also need to know if their children are confused, depressed, anxious, isolating themselves, having suicidal thoughts or are in need of mental health care because of gender dysphoria,” said Kavanagh in a statement. “Parents can't get their children the counseling or therapy needed if their school is hiding this information from them.” 

The bill, SB1001, would have prohibited "a school district or charter school (public school) employee or independent contractor from knowingly addressing a student under the age of 18 by a pronoun that differs from the pronoun that aligns with the student's biological sex or a first name that differs from the student's official school records without written parental permission," according to the text of the bill.

The bill passed the State Senate on March 1, 2023 on a vote of 16-12 (2 members not voting), and passed the State House on May 15 on a vote of 31-27 (1 member not voting).

Hobbs tweeted that she “proudly” vetoed SB 10001, which she called an “attack on transgender youth.”  

Kavanagh said this is a “dangerous situation.”

“If a child is receiving mental health care and that child's physician advises not to treat the child as a different gender, then a school going against the doctor's wishes without the parent's permission would create reason for a lawsuit,” said Kavanagh. “This is a dangerous situation for children who are struggling with mental health issues. For the Governor to turn a blind eye to what's happening is reckless and irresponsible. I would expect more from a former social worker."

There has been rapid growth in diagnoses of "gender dysphoria" in recent years, with this Reuters analysis of Medicaid finding that 42,000 children and teens in the U.S. received a diagnosis in 2021 — nearly triple the number from 2017. 

"Overall, the analysis found that at least 121,882 children ages 6 to 17 were diagnosed with gender dysphoria from 2017 through 2021," said Reuters.

A 2016 review in the Journal of Adolescent Health called children with gender dysphoria "singularly vulnerable" due to high rates of depression, self-harm, and even suicide. 

The American Psychiatric Association's "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" holds children are not fully capable of understanding what it means to be a man or a woman, adding that most questioning their biological sex eventually come to accept it and stop "identifying" as the opposite one.