An Arizona state representative made a deeply personal appeal on the House floor this week, sharing their own experience as a nonbinary person while speaking out against House Bill 2249 that would require schools to obtain written parental consent before allowing staff to use a student's preferred name or pronouns.
HB 2249, sponsored by Representative Lisa Fink (R-AZ), is part of a broader package of measures aimed at increasing parental oversight in schools. In addition to the pronoun and name consent provisions, the bill would strengthen parents' rights to access their child's complete educational records, including counseling and psychological files, and would bar school employees from encouraging students to withhold information from their parents.
Representative Lorena Austin (D-AZ) spoke against the measure, known as the "Parents' Bill of Rights," which passed the House Education Committee on January 27. The Republican-sponsored measure would also impose financial penalties of at least $500,000 on school districts found to have withheld information about a student's well-being from parents.
"It is interesting to me to be in this chamber and see your humanity debated," Rep. Austin said, addressing their colleagues directly before disclosing that they identify as nonbinary, something they said was "not a surprise to anyone in this room."
Personal Background
Austin described growing up in an environment where LGBTQ+ people were largely invisible, saying they had no models for understanding their own identity. "I should've grown up to be this perfect straight person with all the Disney movies that I saw," they said. "I didn't have anyone to model to me about who I could be."
They recalled a formative moment from high school, when a classmate who was openly gay disappeared from school within three days of coming out. "I will never forget a girl at my high school who was out, and it took three days for her to just not show up to school anymore," Austin said.
The representative argued the legislation criminalizes educators for simply supporting students. "Now we want to criminalize teachers for simply respecting how a young person is navigating through their life," they said.
Austin also pushed back on the notion that all children have equal support at home, pointing to testimony they said accompanied similar legislation in the past. "People come and testify how they have been kicked out of their homes, have been threatened to be killed," they said, adding, "This idea… that every child is going to have the same safety and opportunity as others to be accepted is absolutely wrong, and that's a fact."
Austin's Understanding
Austin said they did not come out until adulthood, attributing the delay to their generation and environment. "I didn't get to become who I truly am until I was an adult, well after 18," Austin shared. "I went through some really dark times trying to find myself because I thought something was wrong with me, and there's nothing wrong with me, and there's nothing wrong with these young kids trying to figure out who they are."
Austin closed their remarks with a direct challenge to anyone who disagreed. "If you think something is wrong with me, then come tell me to my face. You can bully me, but we are not supposed to be bullying kids," Austin said, before casting their vote against the bill.
HB 2249 passed the full House on February 25, 2026, with a vote of 31-23 now heading to the Arizona Senate for consideration.
