Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes commended LGBT youth organization one•n•ten, which provides LGBT programs to minors as young as 11 years old.
“Awesome work being done by one•n•ten for inclusivity and creating a safe space for LGBTQ youth,” Mayes said on Twitter. “Thanks for showing us around yesterday!”
One•n•ten’s website says that it “envisions a world where all LGBTQ youth and young adults are embraced for who they are, actively engaged in their communities, and empowered to lead.”
The organization claims to enhance the lives of youth and young adults ages 11-24.
In August, the youth organization hosted a dance show fundraiser featuring a number of men in drag including “Navi Ho,” “Sasha Bratz,” and “Trey.”
Phoenix Children’s Hospital, which offers sterilizing so-called gender affirming care to minors, provides referrals to one•n•ten.
For a girl desiring to become a boy, gender-affirming procedures may include a testosterone prescription, hysterectomy, mastectomy, and metoidioplasty. For a boy, transitioning may entail an estrogen prescription, breast mammoplasty, orchiectomy, and vaginoplasty. Prepubescent children may be given puberty blockers.
These procedures aren’t as irreversible as first thought, evidence shows, and appear to cause adverse health effects.
One•n•ten programs include “SexFYI!,” a monthly sexual health program for ages 14 – 17 yo and 18 – 24 “that is inclusive of their body, gender identity and sexual orientation, including fluidity therein.”
Another program, “TGNC (Trans and Gender Non-Conforming) Wellness,” meets once a month to discuss “gender affirming health topics” such as “Pronouns Support,” “Hormones 101,” “Gender Affirming Surgeries 101,” “Gender Dysphoria Tips/Tools,” “How to Bind Safely, How to Tuck Safely,” “How to Select a LGBTQ Affirming Provider/Counselor,” and “Supporting a Healthy Transition.”
2gether in Color meets twice a month to “provide a space for LGBTQ youth who are People of Color (POC) to build connections based on lived experiences.”
The one•n•ten outdoor adventure camp, Camp OUTdoors, is a youth retreat for trans and non-binary youth. The motto is “Out of the Closet, Into the Woods.”
One•n•ten partners with public online charter school Arizona Virtual School to provide a middle school for LGBT-identifying students.
Mayes is the first LGBT person elected as Arizona attorney general. She has been vocal about her support for the LGBT movement.
“With LGBTQ Americans – and particularly transgender Americans – increasingly targeted by extremist legislation designed to restrict their rights, I am reaffirming my office’s commitment to protecting the civil rights of all Arizonans,” she said in a June news release. “Federal and state civil rights laws protect the right of LGTBQ Arizonans to live, work, and freely access public accommodations without being subjected to discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or threats of violence because of who they are. My office is fully committed to enforcing these laws.”
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
Arizona State Senator Janae Shamp is sponsoring a bill that would require insurers and providers of gender-altering drugs and surgeries to also provide and cover detransition procedures.
Shamp, a Republican, is inspired by 19-year-old Chloe Cole, a de-transitioner who was diagnosed with gender dysphoria and put on puberty blockers and testosterone therapy starting at age 13.
At age 15, Cole underwent a double mastectomy. Now, she says her “childhood was ruined” by the medical interventions. She regrets the permanent changes transitioning made to her body and the unknown harm to her fertility.
Cole said in a video with Shamp that she was “butchered by the institutions that we all thought we could trust.”
“The drugs and surgeries changed my body, but did not and could not change the undeniable reality that I am, and forever will be, a female,” Cole said.
. @AZSenatorShamp is sponsoring a bill that would require insurers and providers of gender-altering drugs and surgeries to also provide and cover detransition procedures.
Her inspiration- for this legislation is a young woman named Chloe Cole ⬇️
Introduced Feb. 2, Senate Bill 1511 had its second Senate reading on Tuesday.
“My heart goes out to the growing number of people, especially children, like Chloe was, struggling with their identity, who were pushed toward physically altering their bodies as a solution, rather than receiving the mental health care they deserve,” Shamp said.
The state senator worked as an operating room nurse before running for office. She earned a B.S. in molecular biosciences and biotechnology from Arizona State University in 2002 and a B.S. in nursing from Grand Canyon University in 2012.
Shamp has fought for medical freedom and the right to informed healthcare decisions throughout her term as a state senator. Last year, she introduced a bill that would have required employers to allow employees that complete a religious exemption form to opt out of vaccination requirements.
The bill, which Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed, would have allowed those fired over vaccine mandates to file complaints with the attorney general if their employer didn’t offer or denied a religious exemption.
“I spent my entire career as a nurse, being an advocate for my patients and ensuring that their beliefs are respected and protected,” Shamp said in a news release after the veto. “The reason I’m here at the Senate is because I was fired from my job as a nurse after refusing to get the experimental COVID-19 vaccine.”
Shamp said her top priority as a senator was the vaccine bill because “Americans’ medical freedoms were taken from them, myself included,” during the pandemic.
After the veto, which Shamp said was “personal,” she pledged to continue to fight for Arizonans’ medical freedom.
The registered nurse turned politician also pledged to protect residents of the Grand Canyon state from mask mandates. She said wearing a mask should be a personal choice.
“As a registered nurse who has been detrimentally impacted by government infringement not based on scientific evidence, I want you to rest assured that I will fight tooth and nail to make sure you’re protected from this gross overreach,” Shamp said in a news release. “If you want to wear a mask, wear a mask. If you don’t want to wear a mask, don’t wear one.”
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
Wyoming was the state with the largest increase in auto loan debt, followed by South Dakota, Texas, Delaware, Minnesota, North Dakota, Colorado, Florida, Alaska, and tenth, Arizona.
“Wyoming residents have a very high average auto loan balance, at $22,104, and reached that number after increasing their average by nearly 1.9% between Q3 2023 and Q4 2023,” John Kiernan, editor of WalletHub, said. “Wyoming residents pay out a whopping $543 per month toward their auto loan debt, on average.”
The states with the smallest increase included Ohio, Nevada, Oregon, West Virginia, Michigan, Connecticut, Montana, Utah, Missouri, and Rhode Island.
Kiernan said from Q3 2023 to Q4 2023, residents of most states either had a less than 1% increase in their average auto loan balance or saw a decrease in the average.
“A few states had more dramatic increases, as high as around 3%, which suggests that people in some states are more affected by inflation in car prices or are biting off more than they can chew when it comes to loans,” Kiernan said.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne approved PragerU teaching materials for Arizona classrooms.
“In some classrooms, the extreme left side has been presented,” Horne, a Republican in his second tour as school superintendent, said Wednesday at a Capitol news conference. “These present an alternative.”
Teachers in all public and charter schools can use PragerU’s lessons and educational videos in their classrooms, Horne said.
Founded by Dennis Prager, PragerU is a conservative media organization offering free, pro-American content. The nonprofit makes videos on topics including economics, character development, politics, American history, and Judeo-Christian values.
Arizona joins several other states in adopting PragerU’s content into its public school curriculum. In July, Florida became the first state to allow schools to use PragerU videos as a teaching tool. Oklahoma, Montana, and New Hampshire followed soon after.
Critics fear the use of PragerU videos in classrooms will push a far-right political agenda.
“This is a program that is not actually a university, despite its name. It’s not an accredited program. It’s not an actual education organization and it’s deeply funded propaganda,” Beth Lewis of Save our Schools Arizona said.
But PragerU says that its mission is to offer a “free alternative to the dominant left-wing ideology in culture, media, and education.”
“Parents who are showing up and are hearing there is a left-wing domination of the educational market, they have an option for something else for their kids, that’s it,” PragerU CEO Marissa Streit said.
Each school district will be able to choose if they want to use the material or not, Horne said.
Horne has fought left-wing ideology in the classroom throughout his time as superintendent. Horne canceled presentations on social-emotional learning at a conference sponsored by his department after two weeks in office last year.
He also removed LGBT resources from the state Department of Education website.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
Rep. Leezah Sun, D-Phoenix, resigned from the House after the Arizona House Ethics Committee found she violated House Rule 1 by exhibiting a pattern of disorderly behavior.
Sun “engaged in a pattern of inappropriate behavior in her official capacity and under the color of her office as a state representative,” the report says.
Four fellow Democrats in the Arizona House filed the ethics complaint against her. Chairman of the Ethics Committee Joseph Chaplik, R-Scottsdale, emphasized the role the committee plays in addressing complaints regarding potential violations of House Rules.
“It is important to clarify that our committee is not intended to emulate a court of law, and our investigation of matters is not conducted as a trial,” he said in a statement. “Rather, the proceedings in which Committee members have engaged in this matter were to receive Representative Sun’s input and gather pertinent facts related to a specific internal House matter—namely, whether Representative Sun engaged in disorderly behavior, contravening House Rule 1.”
Sun was entitled to “judicious consideration” of the allegations brought against her, Chaplik said.
“I’m proud that the Committee strived at all times to satisfy this constitutional guarantee, conducting two hearings to provide a platform for Representative Sun to present her perspective,” he said.
“I am appreciative of the witnesses, members, and staff of the Committee for demonstrating and upholding the integrity of the House and ensuring that our proceedings adhered to the highest standards of professionalism and fairness,” the chairman continued.
Sun tried to use her status as a lawmaker to interfere in a child custody transfer in June, according to the report. Four kids were supposed to go with a parental supervisor for visitation with their dad but wouldn’t get out of the car, so Sun told the supervisor to reschedule and “call it a day.” When the supervisor said she was following court orders, Sun reportedly told her she was “done” and “now you need to move on.”
Additionally, three city of Tolleson employees claimed Sun was aggressive toward them during a meeting in May and wanted to hurt them. She allegedly called the city manager vulgar names.
During a conference in Tucson, Sun allegedly threatened to throw Tolleson Chief Government Affairs Officer Pilar Sinawi off the hotel balcony in August. Sun later countered that her language was “hyperbolic,” but she admitted that she said if Sinawi were at the conference, she would “b**** slap” her, according to the report.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
