ARIZONA – Ask Your Legislators to Oppose the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Bill (HB 2802)

February 23
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Dear Friend,

We have an urgent request for your help.

Along with our friends at Center for Arizona Policy, we are calling your attention to a very concerning bill in your state and asking you to urge your legislators to oppose it. The Arizona House is considering H.B. 2802, a bill that undermines the rights of religious believers, licensed counselors, and small business owners.

H.B. 2802 would ban so-called “conversion therapy” and mandate counselors adopt an “affirmative care” approach towards minors struggling with sexuality-related issues. The bill seeks to silence professional speech by licensed counselors and compel them to provide a specific type of treatment that violates the consciences of some therapists and even some of their patients. This is a First Amendment violation, but worse than that, it harms children struggling with gender dysphoria or unwanted same-sex attraction by denying them the true help they need from professional counseling.

Beyond that, this bill also adds “gender identity” and “sexual identity” to Arizona’s current nondiscrimination law. Civil rights laws like these are meant to protect people and organizations like small businesses from unjust discrimination, but H.B. 2802 does the exact opposite by turning Arizona’s civil rights laws into a sword to punish people or organizations who hold a historic understanding of marriage and sexuality.

We need your help to prevent this.

Please send a message to your representative today urging that they reject H.B. 2802.

Together with our friends at Center for Arizona Policy, you can help ensure that Arizona law helps, not harms, children by preserving their access to the healthcare they need, and that the rights of professional counselors and all Arizona citizens are protected.

Now is the time to speak up for them to your state representative.

Sincerely,Joseph Kohm
Joseph Kohm
Joseph Kohm
Policy Director

 

 

P.S. For further updates, be sure to connect with our friends and allies at the Center for Arizona Policy. They are in the halls of the state capitol working on your behalf!