PHOENIX — Arizona lawmakers were poised Wednesday to begin the process of repealing a 1991 law that bars HIV and AIDS instruction that “promotes a homosexual lifestyle” following the filing of a lawsuit by LGBT groups.
The planned action in the state House comes a day after Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich declined to join in defending the lawsuit filed last month against the state’s Board of Education and state’s top schools official, Democratic Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman.
Republican state Rep. T.J. Shope plans to carry the repeal and calls the 1991 law “antiquated.” He said Republicans who hold majorities in both chambers of the Legislature were split, with some critical of Brnovich’s decision and others believing as he did that the law was outdated.
Shope will use an existing bill as a vehicle for a full repeal of the 1991 law by adding an amendment.
Hoffman had called for the repeal of the law in February, before the lawsuit was filed. She had indicated she had no plans to mount a defence, and Brnovich’s decision left it up to the Legislature or the Board of Education to defend it.