by Christy Narsi | Apr 16, 2025 | Opinion
By Christy Narsi |
March was Women’s History Month, but a quick perusal through Governor Katie Hobbs’ social media shows no mention of it.
Crickets.
I can only assume she was avoiding the backlash because she knows how the majority of Arizona voters feel about matters such as Women’s History Month.
It’s for women.
So much for being the party of women’s rights. Gov. Hobbs, a female governor, made it clear this week that she refuses to stand with women and, in doing so, she refuses to stand with Arizona voters.
Gov. Hobbs had a second chance to preserve women’s rights this year, but she vetoed HB2062, Arizona’s Stand With Women Act, an act that would have codified the original meaning of basic sex-based words like ‘woman’ and ‘female’ in order to ensure that women’s rights aren’t compromised by judicial activism and bureaucrats. It would have given power back to our elected representatives to decide how, and in which contexts, it is appropriate to separate citizens by sex.
Words matter. We can’t protect women if we can’t define ‘woman.’ I have a vested interest in making sure we do. I am a mother. I have two daughters. My first granddaughter is on the way. I am president of a public K-8 charter school where young girls come to learn.
Mother, daughter, granddaughter, grandmother, aunt, sister, girls … all words that will become meaningless if we don’t fight to stop our erasure. Activists say these words lack objective meaning. They say these words are defined by subjective feelings, rather than objective reality. The efforts of these activists to legally eradicate the difference between the sexes fundamentally erase women by depriving them of their dignity, safety, and well-being. Men and women are legally equal, but biologically different and as such should have a legal right to single-sex spaces. 86% of Americans (and even 83% of Democrats) agree. Gov. Hobbs is out of touch with the public and even those of her own party.
What about publicly collected data regarding males and females? Shouldn’t vital statistics—including statistics about matters such as violence against women—reflect biological truth? Imagine a world where all data used to promote public health, prevent crime, enforce civil rights laws, and ensure economic and social policy was subjective!
Most of the public focus on this issue has been on fairness in women’s sports, but this goes far beyond sports. Only two states—and not Arizona—ensure women’s prisons are only for women. In many states, men identifying as women, many of whom are violent sexual predators, have been transferred into women’s prisons. Unfortunately, many female inmates have already suffered physical and psychological damage as a result. This is why 91% of Americans, even 88% of Democrats, support single-sex prisons.
Women, including sexual assault survivors, are being told not to complain about having men undress next to them in their private spaces such as locker rooms. Men are invading female sororities, domestic violence shelters, and educational training programs that were created specifically to encourage women’s engagement.
What kind of a world are we setting up for the next generation if we close our eyes to this? My challenge to all Arizonans is this: make some serious noise and do not let up! Educate everyone you meet on what Gov. Hobbs has done to disadvantage women and take away our right to equal opportunity. Talk about this at church, at the gym, and yes, even in the workplace. I am convinced that once Arizonans understand the dangerous impact of this veto, they will have found their line in the sand and have the courage to do something about it.
Christy Narsi lives in Surprise, AZ. She is the national chapter director for Independent Women’s Network. Christy is passionate about developing and empowering women who make an impact in their communities.
by Staff Reporter | Apr 10, 2025 | News
By Staff Reporter |
The Arizona legislature passed a bill recognizing the existence of only two genders and defining sex-based terms.
The Senate passed HB 2062 on Tuesday along party lines.
The bill from State Rep. Lisa Fink established definitions for the two genders and all related gendered terms: “boy” defined as “a human male who has not yet reached adulthood”; “father” defined as “a male parent of a child or children as defined by law”; “female” defined as “an individual who has, naturally had, will have, or would have, but for a developmental anomaly or accident, the reproductive system that at some point produces ova”; “girl” defined as “a human female who has not yet reached adulthood”; “male” defined as “an individual who has, naturally had, will have, or would have, but for a developmental anomaly or accident, the reproductive system that at some point produces sperm for fertilization of female ova”; “man” defined as “an adult human of the male sex”; and “mother” defined as “a female parent of a child or children as defined by law.”
HB 2062 also defined “sex” to mean “a person’s biological sex, either male or female, at birth.”
Governor Katie Hobbs is unlikely to approve this bill. She vetoed similar legislation last year (SB 1628), writing in a brief explanation letter that she would not harm residents of the state.
“As I have said time and again, I will not sign legislation that attacks Arizonans,” wrote Hobbs.
Hobbs has declared that individuals become the gender they believe they are, as opposed to their biological sex.
The Independent Women’s Network (IWN) — a grassroots activist group heavily involved in preserving sports participation based on biological sex — launched a campaign to urge Hobbs to go back on her past stances on transgenderism and sign HB2062 into law. One of IWN’s most prominent ambassadors is Riley Barker (nee Gaines), the collegiate swimmer turned political activist after losing to Lia Thomas, a male swimmer who identifies as a female.
“Call upon Governor Hobbs to sign this common sense, pro-woman measure into law to prevent sex discrimination in Arizona,” stated IWN. “We cannot fight sex discrimination if we cannot define ‘sex.’”
Senate Democrats argued for the reality of transgenderism. State Sen. Analise Ortiz said that males who believe they are females should be viewed as such.
“This should terrify us because trans women and girls are already a vulnerable population and this would only make them more vulnerable,” said Ortiz. “The explicit goal is to erase trans people from public life, including causing them to lose their jobs. It is wrong. We just need to respect people for who they are.”
The bill passed out of the House in February, where it also passed along party lines.
State Rep. Stephanie Simacek called the reality of gender “narrow and outdated.”
State Rep. Lorena Austin cited “her lived experience” as a “nonbinary” and “gender nonconforming” to argue against the bill. Austin claimed Christians had no right to determine what constituted gender in the law.
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by Daniel Stefanski | Jan 25, 2025 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
An influential women’s organization is cheering on the passage of a key sex-definition bill in an Arizona House of Representatives Committee.
This week, the Arizona House of Representatives Committee on Government passed HB 2062, the Arizona Sex-based Terms Act. The Independent Women’s Voice marked the occasion, sending out a press release to announce the progress of this legislation in the House chamber.
“Rep. Lisa Fink’s legislation to define ‘woman’ so women’s rights aren’t erased is so important. Last year the Arizona legislature passed similar legislation, but Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed the common-sense, pro-woman bill. Hopefully, after the election mandate of 2024, bipartisan passage of similar legislation in Congress, and executive action by President Trump, the legislature can pass this bill quickly, and Gov. Hobbs can make the right choice this year. 2025 is the year for women’s rights in Arizona to be protected,” said Paula Scanlan, legislative liaison for Independent Women Voice.
According to the press release issued by Independent Women’s Voice, this proposal, if enacted into law would do the following:
- “Define common sex-based terms, such as ‘woman,’ ‘man,’ ‘female,’ and ‘male,’ for purposes of state administrative law;
- “Help protect single-sex spaces and opportunities; and
- “Require publicly collected sex-based vital statistics to accurately reflect biology.”
Freshman State Representative Lisa Fink, the bill’s sponsor, wrote, “I am honored to serve Arizona in my capacity as a new member of the Arizona Legislature and vowed to make it a priority to define sex-based words and women’s rights. In Arizona, common sex-based words are used in 107 state statutes and yet lack legal definitions. That is why I introduced House Bill 2062, inspired by Independent Women’s model to restore common sense and ensure our courts have clarity in how to interpret Arizona statutes. With the recent federal bipartisan support for the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, it should be easy for Arizona leaders across the aisle to support this legislation that helps to protect female spaces and opportunities.”
“Rep. Lisa Fink rightly recognizes the need for legislation that defines sex-based terms, and as an Arizona parent, I’m grateful she introduced Arizona House Bill 2062. It’s time to give Governor Hobbs another chance to do the right thing and ensure the 3 million women and girls—including my two daughters—across the state have equal rights and opportunities,” added Christy Narsi, the Phoenix, Arizona, chair and national chapter director of Independent Women’s Network.
HB 2062 advanced from the House committee with a party-line 4-3 vote – four Republicans in support and three Democrats in opposition. It now awaits a vote in the full chamber.
According to the Legislature’s Request to Speak system, a representative from the Center for Arizona Policy signed in to support the bill; while representatives from the AZ Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence, National Association of Social Workers for the Arizona Chapter, American Civil Liberties Union of AZ, Arizona Center for Women’s Advancement, Living United for Change in Arizona, National Council of Jewish Women Arizona, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona, Stonewall Democrats of Arizona, and Human Rights Campaign signed in to oppose the legislation.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
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