The Daily Agenda: Young activists take the stage
State lawmakers routinely target the LGBTQ community ... Young people gathered in Tucson to promote a bill that would protect them ... New constable incoming.
The rights of LGBTQ individuals in the state came under attack during this year’s legislative session, with 13 new bills introduced that sought to restrict access to public facilities and healthcare, create barriers to securing an accurate ID, limit free speech or restrict student and educator rights.
While the number of bills introduced changes from year to year, the intent does not, and local youth are taking notice and taking action to protect their freedoms.
On the last day of June’s Pride Month celebration, the LGBTQ+ Alliance Fund, ACLU of Arizona and Tucson LGBT Chamber of Commerce hosted a panel of young activists who shared their experiences and talked about the work they’re doing to secure their futures.
The event also served as a way to drum up support for HB 2625, a proposed statewide nondiscrimination act that would expand Arizona’s existing protections to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
Scott Greenwood, executive director of the ACLU of Arizona, said the proposed legislation would be a comprehensive revision to the state’s law that would protect LGBTQ-identifying people, as well as gender identity and expression rights.
If the bill is passed, it will make Arizona the 24th state to add protection laws for people who identify as LGBTQ.
Tucson teen Mya Figueroa said during the event she hopes others see transgender people as normal people who are trying to live their everyday lives. Figueroa is active on social media, using platforms like Snapchat and Instagram to spread her message of love and acceptance and show people that trans people are human too.
Figueroa said she and other teens had a private meeting with state Sen. Ken Bennett about a ballot initiative that would have stopped teachers from having to use students’ preferred pronouns or names.
The bill also would have allowed for monitoring of bathrooms, locker rooms, and other spaces, to ensure that transgender children only use bathrooms of their biological sex. She said laws like this make children vulnerable to bullying, harassment, and discomfort.
Bennet was the deciding vote, and Figueroa said the group was able to convince him to vote against it.
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Alexander Switzer talked about the importance of “Trans Joy” and sharing that with the media, which is often filled with negative stories. Switzer spoke about the confusion he felt in high school, saying that without his parents' support, he felt alone and isolated.
He eventually found solace in friends who felt the same way and luckily, his school offered a gay-straight alliance club, which helped him better understand himself and come out as transgender.
Since then, Switzer has worked to support other trans youth in the community, providing free chest binders, shaping underwear or bras for 225 people this year.
Daniel Trujillo says that he feels lucky to live in Tucson, where nondiscrimination laws have been in place for decades.
However, he finds it difficult to constantly travel to Phoenix to fight for his cause and ensure his voice is heard.
All of the panelists agreed that a driving force behind their efforts is seeing trans individuals thriving and living happy lives.
"As a young person, the impacts of discrimination and hate are really worrisome,” said Trujillo. “In the news, there are lots of tragic stories of trans youth losing their lives or their families.”
Sky Green said they understood at a very young age how deep such discrimination can run.
"I saw my rights and my people's rights being stripped away with no say in the matter and just felt hopeless," said Green.
Green said they feel better now, knowing they’re able to stand up for themselves and others. Through their online advocacy work, they try to explain how something is wrong from a variety of perspectives.
Green said they hope for a future where a person’s gender and who they love is a nonissue.
“(Then) we can put our brain power into things that are better than fighting against hateful bills,” they said. “There are better problems that need to be solved."
The teens also weighed in on their concerns about the upcoming presidential election, with Switzer saying he worried about possibly having to move to another country in December, depending on the outcome of the presidential election.
Andee Huxhold, Executive Director of the Tucson LGBT Chamber of Commerce said she’s deeply impressed by the work that the panelists are doing at such a young age.
“We don't uplift the voices of our youth as much as we should,” she said. “It's our job as a community to amplify that, and they are the next generation who will be fighting the good fight.”
Is that what Jesus would do?: The man accused of burning down two churches in Douglas said homosexuality was an abomination and he serves Jesus Christ, KGUN’s Craig Smith reports. The trial began Monday and Eric Ridenour, who decided to represent himself, also said women should not be church leaders. He is accused of burning down St. Stephen’s Episcopal church and First Presbyterian last year. At the time, St. Stephen’s had a gay pastor.
Constable vacancy: After former Constable Oscar Vasquez resigned in May, the board of supervisors decided not to immediately fill the vacancy. When Presiding Constable Eric Krznarich asked the board at their July 2 meeting to appoint Tracy Ethridge-Nielsen, the board asked County Administrator Jan Lesher for her input. On Monday, she sent a memo to the board recommending they appoint Ethridge-Nielsen. Lesher said eliminating the position altogether was not an option, since this was an election year. Ethridge-Nielsen is the only candidate running for the position.
Lots to unpack: A Maricopa County judge is hearing arguments over HCR 2060, the SB 1070 redux bill, Capitol Media Services’ Howard Fischer reports. The issue is whether the measure, which will be on the ballot as Prop 314, covers so many different issues that it violates a provision of the state constitution that requires ballot measures only cover a single issue. The lawyer representing Republican legislators argued every aspect of the measure has to do with smuggling. The lawyers representing three immigrant rights groups said the measure would affect not only people who cross the border illegally, but also U.S. citizens who sell fentanyl.
Every gallon counts: The City of Tucson’s rebate program for businesses that remove ornamental grass started this month, KJZZ’s Alisa Reznick reports. The owners of apartment complexes and commercial buildings get a $5 rebate for every square foot of grass they remove. City officials hope to conserve more than 9 million gallons of water over the next two years.
Grijalva back on his feet: U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva says he’s feeling good after being treated for lung cancer, the Arizona Daily Star’s Tony Davis reports. Grijalva announced in April that he had been diagnosed with cancer. He says he’s doing physical therapy and quit smoking. He expects to be back to work in Washington, D.C. early next month.
RIP: Former Tucson City Councilman Steve Leal died July 2 at the age of 76, the Tucson Sentinel’s Jim Nintzel reports. During his years on the council from 1989 to 2009 he helped establish new neighborhood associations and community centers on the south side of Tucson.
76: The percent of Americans who support laws that protect the LGBTQ community from discrimination, according to the Public Religion Research Institute, which researches religion, politics and culture. They interviewed 22,000 people last year and the 76% who supported those laws included 59% of Republicans, although that was a decline from 66% in 2022.
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