Action Alert: 2/9/25

February 9, 2025

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.

Use the Request to Speak system and contact Committee members (thank you CEBV for this Committee guide) to express your opinion.

Being heard this week:

• 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, Monday 1p) Prevents state agencies or contractors from providing or requiring DEI in hiring, training and promotion; promotes white Christian nationalism.
• Oppose HB2670: (House Rules Committee, Monday 1p) Requires health education in grades 7 and 8 to include fetal development — may be added in 1-12 if age appropriate, parents can opt-out — 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.