Amish Shah's Support for Youth Transgenderism Comes Under Scrutiny

With just over two months left until Election Day, the Democratic candidate for Arizona's 1st Congressional District, Dr. Amish Shah, is under scrutiny for his support of transgenderism.

The Track Record

During his time in the Arizona House of Representatives, Shah voted against legislation aimed at curbing the influence of transgenderism on children, such as Senate Bill 1138.

SB 1138, which became law in 2022, prohibits doctors and healthcare providers from performing irreversible gender reassignment surgeries on anyone under the age of 18.

Additionally, Shah voted against Senate Bill 1165, which prohibits biological males from competing in girls' sports, that same year, and 2023 saw him vote against banning biological males from entering women's spaces such as restrooms.

With Proposition 318 on the November ballot, which combines the women's sports and private spaces bills into a single measure, Shah has refused to clarify his stance on it.

The Stinger

Where Shah could face the most intense scrutiny is in his vote against House Bill 2312 in 2023, which exempted women's domestic violence shelters from gender discrimination lawsuits if they prohibited biological male employees or individuals from entering.

HB 2312 was introduced by State Representative Rachel Keshel (R-17), who said that the bill was a response to an unnamed Christian women's shelter losing federal funding after it prohibited transgender individuals from entry, citing the women's discomfort toward being around biological males.

Shah voted against the bill in the House Health and Human Services Committee and did not cast a vote when it advanced to the Arizona House, justifying it by saying, "If I have a business of any kind, I can't say I'm only going to take on men or I'm only going to take on women, as far as I understand federal law."

"And that's where I'm kind of concerned: The way this is written, what it's going to do—is it going to say, well, it allows me to then go against what is established federal law?" Shah continued, adding, "I actually don't think it's right to then say, well, we're going to allow some places to be able to discriminate and get off that."