Back in 2019, Arizona appealed an old, horrendously homophobic law that forbid teachers from promoting a “homosexual lifestyle” in schools. It might sound familiar to a similar law in the UK, Margaret Thatcher’s Section 28 — passed in 1988 to “prohibit the promotion of homosexuality by local authorities” including schools — which was only repealed in in 2003, but did immeasurable damage to generations of LGBTQ+ folks.
But now, as Samantha Bee explores in the Full Frontal segment above, lawmakers in Arizona are once again trying to discriminate against the LGBTQ community with new legislation targeting education.
“Arizona is one of just five states that requires parental permission to attend sex ed, and recently Republican lawmakers jammed through a bill requiring another permission slip for any discussions of LGBTQIA+ issues,” Bee explains. “That was vetoed, so now they’re trying to achieve the same goal with HB2035 — which could require permission slips for any discussion of sex in any class.”
Over the course of the segment, Bee speaks to Democratic Arizona State Senator Tony Navarrete, teacher and Senator Christine Marsh — who taught under the previous rules — and a group of students who began an advocacy group to improve sex education in the state.
One of the students, Kelli Brown from Arizona State University, clearly encapsulates the damage that a bill like this could have on LGBTQ students. “Telling them that they need a permission slip to learn about their identity, and the way that their identity has existed throughout history, is telling them that it’s something that should be hidden,” Brown says.