By admin 
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — While the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld other state laws banning transgender girls and women from school sports, Arizonans will get to weigh in on the issue in November.
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The bill, HCR 2003, if approved by voters, would mandate that schools and sports organizations designate sports teams as male, female, or co-ed, based on biological sex—meaning that transgender girls would not be able to join girls’ teams, but would be allowed onto boys’ or co-ed teams.
It also would require K-12 schools and private sports leagues to prohibit transgender athletes from using bathrooms, showers, and locker rooms that don’t match the sex assigned to them at birth.
Advocates of the measure insist it will protect girls’ sports and maintain fairness for female athletes, while also restoring clarity after courts blocked the Arizona 2022 law that bans transgender athletes from girls’ school sports.
While proponents say that it will also protect privacy in locker rooms and showers, opponents argue the opposite: that it invades privacy and could harm transgender students.
State lawmakers approved the House resolution just before the end of their legislative session this month, sending the measure to the November ballot.
The measure would become law on January 1, 2027, if approved by voters in the general election.
The Arizona Secretary of State’s Office is still finalizing language for the ballot measure.
Group sues to block measure from November ballot
A political group, however, is suing to block the ballot measure from appearing on the November ballot.
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Will of the People, along with two faith leaders, filed a lawsuit last week, arguing that HCR 2003 is “not legally sufficient” and “defective in its form” for proposing two very different changes to state law.
They also argue that approving the ballot measure could result in an invasion of students’ privacy by allowing schools to potentially enforce gender checks.
“Another harm is risk to their safety as transgender girls will be vulnerable when expected to change, shower and use the restroom with cisgender boys,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit names Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes as a defendant.
The case is pending in Maricopa County Superior Court.
Republican House Speaker Steve Montenegro also said in a statement that the Supreme Court’s ruling “clears the way for states to protect women’s sports.”
He argued that the high court’s decision strengthens Arizona’s case as voters are poised to weigh in on HCR 2003.
“The Supreme Court settled the legal question. Now Arizona voters can decide for themselves,” GOP state Rep. Selina Bliss, the bill’s sponsor, said in a statement.
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