 |  | Speak Out Now: Bills in Committee This Week |
| We know that the news from Washington DC is overwhelming, and it's easy to feel powerless. Here's something you can do right now to help Arizona and Arizonans: Speak out against bills that threaten the constitutional requirement of church:state separation. - Oppose SB1243 (Senate Rules Committee, Monday 1p): Would move public comment to the beginning of public meetings such as school boards, before agenda items have been heard. This allows bad-faith actors to disrupt; we've seen concerted efforts from Christian nationalists to derail meetings and cause chaos.
- Oppose SB1269 (Senate Rules Committee, Monday 1p): Allows volunteer school chaplains into district/charter schools without specifying chaplains' roles, requiring any training or certification, or requiring accommodation of a range of belief systems be accommodated. An attempt to replace trained social workers, take away parents' rights to manage children's religious education, and track students' religious affiliations.
- Oppose SB1256 (Senate Rules Committee, Monday 1p): Prevents state agencies or contractors from providing or requiring DEI in hiring, training and promotion, and promotes white Christian nationalism.
- Oppose HB2670 (House Rules Committee, Monday 1p): Requires health education in grades 7 and 8 to include fetal development, but doesn't include info about birth control, abortion, consent, etc.
- Oppose HB2123 (House Rules Committee, Monday 1p): Privileges religious leaders by providing expanded confidentiality using narrowly defined terms; such protections should be extended to all religions and none to protect those who are targeted by extremists.
- Oppose HB2438 (House Rules Committee, Monday 1p): Bans judges from amending birth certificates in an attempt to prevent accurately reflecting transgender individuals' identities — a form of legal erasure.
- Oppose HB2216 (House Government Committee, Wednesday 9a): Forces taxpayers to fund fake "pregnancy clinics" that are a front to push anti-choice propaganda based on a specific religious perspective.
- Oppose SB1378 (Senate Judiciary Committee, Wednesday 1:30a): Would make school board elections partisan, further politicizing public schools.
- Oppose SB1441 (Senate Judiciary Committee, Wednesday 1:30p): Allows anyone to bring a civil action against a researcher, research agency, or funding agency for research that they deem "fraudulent."
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| | |  | SCOTUS Watch: Gender-Affirming Care at Risk In December '24, SCOTUS heard oral arguments in LW/US v. Skrmetti, which asks whether Tennessee can enforce a state ban on gender-affirming care for youth. What did the Justices have to say? Alito referenced a debunked UK study, Coney-Barrett said she wasn't aware of government-based bias against transgender people, and B̶e̶e̶r̶ ̶B̶o̶n̶g̶ Kavanaugh waffled, saying “If the treatment’s barred, some kids will suffer because they can’t access the treatment. If the treatment is allowed …some kids will suffer who get the treatment and later wish they hadn’t and want to detransition.” Overall, the focus fell on the (extremely) low risk of regret vs the "indignity of safety." Rewire News Group Senior Reporter Garnet Henderson joins us Friday, February 14, at noon to discuss the far-reaching implications of this case. Register for this virtual presentation |
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 | Religious Exemptions and Vaccine Laws: What to Expect Given that our public health system is apparently about to be run by unqualified, deeply cynical individuals who place conspiracy theories, misinformation, and greed above sound science, we wanted to focus on some facts. Last week, we were joined by Dorit Rubinstein Reiss, LLB Ph.D, the James Edgar Hervey Chair in Litigation at UC Law San Francisco. She specializes in vaccine law and policy, including religious exemption laws and tort liability related to non-vaccination. Among many salient points, Professor Reiss notes that no major religions oppose vaccines, even fewer religions prohibit vaccines, and that an entire industry exists simply to profit from vaccine denial and false religious exemptions. This is a must-watch for anyone concerned about the state of public health in the U.S. Watch Professor Reiss's presentation |
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| |  | Hey Hey! Get Your Shirt Today! Did you know that Secular AZ has a ton of shirt designs available in our Bonfire shop? Proclaim your support for the Establishment Clause and church:state separation with a shiny new shirt! Check out Secular AZ shirts |
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 | Save Your Spot: Secular Day at the Capitol on March 6 Our annual Secular Day at the Capitol event is right around the corner! This year, we'll meet at Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza on March 6th for a day of activism, community and inspiration. Guest speakers include Seth Andrews, Will Humble, and more. Lunch will be provided, but you gotta RSVP! More info and RSVP here. |
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| | | | Secular AZ
PO Box 47756 | Phoenix, Arizona 85068
6023804810 | info@secularaz.org |
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