NEWSLETTER
Help us learn what's being taught in schools.
We're asking students and parents to help us understand what sex education looks like in their classrooms.
FROM THE MAGAZINE
Anti-discrimination bills for the LGBTQ+ community have wide support. So why can’t a bill get passed?
More than twenty years of attempts to get protections in place have failed as queer lives become more politicized.
A counseling center tied to conversion therapy sent a cease and desist letter to our reporter.
In an attempt to hinder our reporting, the family counseling center told LOOKOUT staff to stop contacting them.
POLITICS
A Democrat running against an LGBTQ+ Caucus member has a history of promoting far-right Republicans
Leaked images show that Mario Garcia, who is running for a Senate seat to represent Maryvale and Glendale, has shared online posts and photos from candidates such as Kari Lake and Gary Snyder.
HEALTH
Data shows LGBTQ+ Arizonans are more at risk with upcoming abortion ban
More than a third of trans people who got pregnant considered unsafe abortion methods, while bisexuals and lesbians experience unwanted pregnancies at higher rates.
HEALTH
State regulators consider conversion therapy “unprofessional conduct,” but so far have not prevented it.
Despite local counselors advertising different kinds of conversion therapies online, no one has been investigated for it.
Sign up for our newsletter
If you like independent and accountability-driven queer news, then you'll love LOOKOUT's weekly newsletter.
EDUCATION
HEALTH
Why is it so difficult to teach sex-ed in Arizona?
Parental rights laws and bureaucracy leave teachers and staff confused on what can be taught. In the end, teaching nothing might be easier.
EDUCATION
Paradise Valley Schools Propose Bringing Missionaries into Classrooms
A contract drafted by the LDS church's headquarters in Utah would have the school district pay for Mormon missionaries to volunteer in schools.
POLITICS
A bill to help LGBTQ+ students access local scholarships died in the House
The bill was never heard in committee, and a last-ditch effort to get it added onto another bill was killed by a fellow LGBTQ+ legislator.
FROM THE MAGAZINE
The students who found a home
High School is rough for everyone. But for these trans and nonbinary students, it’s inspired them to find safety and promote joy.
HEALTH
HEALTH
"BOOM. EASY AS THAT." Email accidentally sent to all legislators shows GOP game plan on abortion access.
A presentation deck meant just for House GOP members was sent out to all legislators. In it were the plans to bypass a possible vote in favor of abortion as a constitutional right.
HEALTH
Why is it so difficult to teach sex-ed in Arizona?
Parental rights laws and bureaucracy leave teachers and staff confused on what can be taught. In the end, teaching nothing might be easier.
HEALTH
An executive order last year aimed to curb conversion therapy, but a handful of counselors still practice it.
LOOKOUT identified local counselors and therapists in the state who practice new forms of conversion therapy despite an executive order that aimed to limit counselor’s resources.
HEALTH
Poor sex education and outreach is to blame for HIV increase in Arizona, advocates say.
State health department data shows HIV transmissions up by almost 20%, going the opposite way of the nation where the virus is slowing.
POLITICS
HEALTH
"BOOM. EASY AS THAT." Email accidentally sent to all legislators shows GOP game plan on abortion access.
A presentation deck meant just for House GOP members was sent out to all legislators. In it were the plans to bypass a possible vote in favor of abortion as a constitutional right.
POLITICS
AZ state representative calls nation "unrighteous" because of LGBTQ+ people and non-Christians.
A traditional opening prayer in the House turned into an evangelical speech condemning the community as "sinners" and "dark."
POLITICS
Fact-checking last week's hearing in the House
The House Judicial Committee met to discuss a bill that upends the way we talk about gender in the state. It went off the rails into a slew of wrong statements and falsities.
POLITICS
Equality Arizona is back, but under a leader who allegedly doomed it.
After quietly losing all its staff last year, Equality Arizona—one of the state’s longest running LGBTQ+ advocacy orgs—faced closure. But a familiar face brought it back, and not everyone is OK with it.
SAFETY
SAFETY
While Flagstaff pushes back the case against Epona Rose, activists gather demanding her freedom.
Locals are calling on assault charges against Rose to be dropped, claiming she was defending herself from attackers.
SAFETY
County attorney's appearance at Moms for Liberty event raises questions on political alignment with hate group
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell has not been outspoken on LGBTQ+ rights of school-aged children. Her appearance at the event in Mesa, though, may solidify it for the public.
SAFETY
Woman’s arrest in Flagstaff reveals missteps in police interactions with queer community
Despite having an LGBTQ+ liaison and advisory committee, Flagstaff police officers consistently dead-named a woman and misgendered her, even after being corrected and told to stop.
SAFETY
A trans woman in Flagstaff defended herself from an attack. She's now facing felony charges.
A trans woman was allegedly assaulted and harassed by at least four men. After she defended herself, police arrested her.
CULTURE
CULTURE
Libs of TikTok followers forced a drag fundraiser for Palestinean children to get cancelled.
It is the third known time in the past few years where a drag show has been threatened with violence in Arizona.
FROM THE MAGAZINE
What is a truly safe space? A pop-up event might have an answer.
Maudie’s is modeled after a decades-old lesbian bar, but its mission is less about drinking and more about community.
FROM THE MAGAZINE
Seeking to address fears inside salons, queer barbers make their own spaces
In response to safety concerns, queer-friendly barber shops have emerged to create spaces of inclusivity and respect.
FROM THE MAGAZINE
Phoenix’s gay bars and the case of the “missing stairs”
Everyone seems to know that gay bars in the city openly discriminate. So why is no one fixing it?