How a local turn-of-phrase turned into a call for peace across ideologies
Penny Smith was admired in Cottonwood. So when someone besmirched her in a city council meeting, residents sought to lower the temperature.
Can thrifting be made safer?
Shopping for clothes is one of our most basic activities. It can also be an uncomfortable experience for gender-nonconforming people.
In a leaked web meeting, school board candidates doubled-down on anti-trans rhetoric.
The webcast, organized by Arizona Women of Action, is part of a campaign to use LGBTQ+ issues as a galvanizing issue this November.
How Arizona’s sex education classes prepared—and failed—students
Former students tell their stories on how the state’s restrictive sex education programs affected their lives and relationships
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CULTURE
Are Republicans “dragging” down small business revenue?
Once obscure, drag is a financial boon for Arizona’s small business scene. Still, Republicans are trying to kill it, putting local businesses at risk.
How an older lesbian uplifted Sun City’s queer community
In the face of an elderly loneliness epidemic, Susie Broussard revamped her local club to help the retirement town’s isolated LGBTQ+ residents.
A hate group's influence in Tucson
The Reid Park Zoo cancelled a Pride event at the request of a LGBTQ+ group aligned with recognized hate groups.
Libs of TikTok followers forced a drag fundraiser for Palestinean children to get cancelled.
It is the third known time in the past few years where a drag show has been threatened with violence in Arizona.
EDUCATION
Suburban Phoenix School District Votes to Ignore Federal Title IX Expansions
The move doesn't eliminate students or teachers from filing civil rights complaints, but could cost millions in federal funding for the district.
A forthcoming bill targeting child grooming might restrict sex education. Here’s how.
Educators and LGBTQ+ advocates say HB2310's vague language will have a chilling effect on teachers handing out materials.
Why is it so difficult to teach sex-ed in Arizona?
Parental rights laws and bureaucracy leave teachers and staff confused on what can be taught. In the end, teaching nothing might be easier.
Paradise Valley Schools Propose Bringing Missionaries into Classrooms
A contract drafted by the LDS church's headquarters in Utah would have the school district pay for Mormon missionaries to volunteer in schools.
HEALTH
Their sex-ed class was considered a "joke," so they had to go somewhere else.
Hear their voice: Helen Waltz (they/them), Flagstaff, Ariz.
A matter of luck: In a state built off parents' rights, what happens if caregivers don't step up?
Hear their voices: Diana Garcia (she/her) Yuma, Ariz.
A parent's perspective of Arizona's sex education: “Absolutely just appallingly inadequate.”
Hear their voices: Gina Griffiths (Phoenix, AZ.) and TV Alford (Mesa, AZ)
A high school game couldn’t match up to a real-life sexual encounter
Hear her voice: Yesenia Siemens (she/they), Yuma, Ariz.
SAFETY
Gregory Dickens was sentenced to death for murder. Was it actually because he was gay?
A review of a decades-old case resurfaces questions of judicial bias in Arizona, and is relevant to the state’s current judicial appointees.
While Flagstaff pushes back the case against Epona Rose, activists gather demanding her freedom.
Locals are calling on assault charges against Rose to be dropped, claiming she was defending herself from attackers.
County attorney's appearance at Moms for Liberty event raises questions on political alignment with hate group
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell has not been outspoken on LGBTQ+ rights of school-aged children. Her appearance at the event in Mesa, though, may solidify it for the public.
Woman’s arrest in Flagstaff reveals missteps in police interactions with queer community
Despite having an LGBTQ+ liaison and advisory committee, Flagstaff police officers consistently dead-named a woman and misgendered her, even after being corrected and told to stop.
POLITICS
Are Republicans “dragging” down small business revenue?
Once obscure, drag is a financial boon for Arizona’s small business scene. Still, Republicans are trying to kill it, putting local businesses at risk.
What is LOOKOUT covering this election season?
Some key races we're looking at over the next few months, and what we learned from last night.
Suburban Phoenix School District Votes to Ignore Federal Title IX Expansions
The move doesn't eliminate students or teachers from filing civil rights complaints, but could cost millions in federal funding for the district.
West Phoenix Dem candidate cozies up with anti-LGBTQ+ politician
Mario Garcia is taking pictures with an out-of-state House of Representatives candidate whose platform includes "traditional marriage" values.