PHOENIX — The culture wars are back at the state Capitol.
But this time, Sen. John Kavanagh, a Fountain Hills Republican, thinks the election results suggest public sentiment is on his side on the issue of transgender rights, and that Democrats who opposed his proposals in the past are now paying attention.
One law he proposes would prohibit school employees from referring to a student by a pronoun that does not match his or her biological sex. And by that, Kavanagh means the sex at the time of birth as determined by anatomy, he told Capitol Media Services Tuesday.
Only if a parent gave consent would his Senate Bill 1002 allow a teacher to use a different pronoun.
More far reaching is his SB 1003, which would prohibit the use of restrooms, locker rooms and any sleeping quarters designated for one sex by those of the "opposite" sex.
Kavanagh did include language requiring schools to make "reasonable accommodations'' for those who refuse to use the facility that aligns with their "immutable biological sex.'' Accommodation can include a single-occupancy restroom or changing facility, or use by students of a facility normally reserved for employees.
Kavanagh
If these seem familiar, it's because Kavanagh pushed both through the Legislature in 2023 — with only Republican votes — only to have them vetoed by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs.
But Kavanagh said this year is different, citing what he claims is a major shift in public attitudes reflected in this year's election, and not just on the national level.
Democratic state Sen. Christine Marsh lost her race in her "swing'' district that spans Phoenix and Scottsdale to Republican Carine Warner. Kavanagh contends Marsh lost because of her arguments Arizona should allow transgender students to use showers in locker rooms. Marsh had said a shower curtain would be sufficient, which Warner highlighted in campaign materials.
"I think some Democrats got the message that people think they are totally out of touch with society on all of these social, transgender issues,'' Kavanagh said.
Overall, Republicans strengthened their hold at the Legislature, picking up one seat in the Senate and two in the House.
That still leaves Hobbs with her veto stamp.
But Kavanagh said even she is reading the tea leaves of the election. He pointed out the governor now says she is willing to work — at least in some form — with the incoming Trump administration on immigration and border security issues.
But gubernatorial press aide Christian Slater said Kavanagh is engaged in wishful thinking on the issue of transgender rights.
He cited Hobbs' veto messages on both 2023 bills, and said her thinking has not changed since then.
Kavanagh said if he can't get the measures past the governor, the ultimate fallback is to take the issue directly to voters. He tried to do that earlier this year, only to be thwarted by state Sen. Ken Bennett, a Prescott Republican.
Bennett voted in 2023 for both the "bathroom bill'' and the pronoun bill. But he balked at sending both to voters, pointing out that anything approved at the ballot is constitutionally protected, meaning lawmakers cannot fix any problems that develop.
He had other concerns. "I can probably identify three or four of my nephews and nieces that would fall under some of these situations,'' Bennett said. "And I have to always think of them on behalf of everyone who's in one of these situations: How would I want a state law to affect them at such tender ages?'' Plus , he said, he didn't want to combine both issues into a single take-it-or-leave-it ballot measure.
Kavanagh said he thinks that vote to kill his ballot proposal is the reason Bennett's constituents voted not to return him to office.
Bennett acknowledged Tuesday that campaign mailers sent out by Mark Finchem, his foe in the 2024 primary election, included charges that Bennett supported "transgender ideology.'' But he said that's just a piece of the puzzle.
"The people in my party who didn't want me to be a senator any more, there were other excuses they could have come up with to do what they did,'' Bennett said. He said they recruited Finchem, who previously was a state representative from Oro Valley, to move to Prescott to run against him. They also helped Finchem raise more than $400,000 for a legislative race, more than three times what Bennett collected, he said.
Finchem also had something else: Donald Trump's endorsement.
With Bennett gone and a slightly larger GOP majority in the Legislature, Kavanagh figures he's got the votes for a 2026 ballot measure.
Still, Kavanagh admitted there's a political motive behind his new legislative proposals.
"I think the public has a right to know if the Democrats, especially swing district Democrats, have seen the light, or if they're still far left on these social issues,'' he said. "But I still wouldn't rule out the governor signing this.''
Slater said Hobbs made herself clear with her vetoes.
In rejecting the pronoun bill, she called it "harmful legislation directed at transgender youth.''
"Instead of coming up with new ways to target and isolate our children, we should be working together to create an Arizona where everyone has the freedom to be who they are without fear of harassment or judgment,'' Hobbs said in a 2023 post on social media.
And in vetoing the bill on bathroom use, the governor said "I will not sign legislation that attacks Arizonans.''
The issue of bathroom use is not just an Arizona question. Schools aside, it also made headlines when U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson announced after last month's election he is banning transgender women from using female bathrooms on Capitol Hill. That followed the election of Democrat Sarah McBride of Delaware, the first openly transgender member of Congress.
Kavanagh also contends that polls on transgender issues — which also include the separate hot-button question of transgender girls participating in girls' sports — show the public is supportive of his position.
But the question of public attitudes is a bit murkier than he says. There are no recent Arizona surveys.
A 2022 poll by the Pew Research Center said 64% of those questioned supported protecting transgender people from discrimination in jobs, housing and public spaces.
But the same survey said 58% thought trans athletes should compete on teams that match the gender of their birth, versus 17% opposed. And by a 41% to 31% margin, the poll said people should use public bathrooms that match their assigned gender.
As to the issue of pronouns, a 2023 poll by the McCourtney Institute of Democracy found that 39% questioned said teachers should be encouraged to use a student's preferred pronoun, while 38% said that should be discouraged, and the balance said it should be left up to teachers.
