Arizona repeals law against sex-ed courses ‘promoting homosexual lifestyle’

Arizona on Thursday officially repealed a decades-old sex education law that banned any program that “promotes a homosexual lifestyle,” according to KTAR.

The state legislature voted Wednesday and Thursday in favor of Senate Bill 1346, which contains an amendment repealing the law, according to the news outlet. After a 55-5 vote in the state House Wednesday, the state Senate backed it 19-10, at which point Gov. Doug Ducey (R) signed it into law.

{mosads}The 1991 law barred any HIV or AIDS instruction that “suggests that some methods of sex are safe methods of homosexual sex” or “portrays homosexuality as a positive alternative lifestyle.”

In a series of tweets Thursday, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman hailed the repeal, saying it ensured students will have access to medically accurate information on HIV/AIDS prevention.

More importantly, after nearly three decades of this law placing stigma on our #LGBTQ community, the repeal sends a signal to every student, teacher, and family in Arizona that they are welcome in our schools – regardless of who they are and who they love.

— Kathy Hoffman (@Supt_Hoffman) April 11, 2019

The repeal comes two days after state Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) announced the state would not defend the law in a lawsuit filed on behalf of Equality Arizona, according to KTAR. The law, the LGBTQ rights group argued, implies “that there is something so undesirable, shameful, or controversial about ‘homosexuality’ that any positive portrayals of LGBTQ people or same-sex relationships must be explicitly barred.”

Equality Arizona did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.