PHX Reporter

Rep. Judy Schweibert (D-LD2), who is running for Arizona State Senate in District 2, criticized the statement, ‘the child belongs to the parent’ during a legislative hearing earlier this year.

“So, the statement that the child belongs to the parent really grates on me,” said Schweibert during an April 2 hearing about SB 1001, also known as “The Given Name Act.” 

The video excerpt of Schweibert’s comments was posted on X, formerly Twitter, by the Arizona Senate Victory Fund PAC.

“A stunning admission by Judy Schwiebert — she thinks your children don't belong to you,” posted the PAC. “Don't let the government control how you raise your kids.” 

A resident of Phoenix, Schweibert is a former teacher who was elected to her north Phoenix legislative district in the November 2022 general election. She previously represented the 20th district, but ran for election in the 2nd due to redistricting. 

SB 1001 was introduced by State Sen. John Kavanagh (R-Fountain Hills) and would have prohibited “a school district or charter school employee or independent contractor from knowingly referring to a student under 18 years old by a pronoun that differs from the pronoun that aligns with the person's biological sex without parental permission,” according to an Arizona State Senate fact sheet. 

"The Given Name Act is pretty simple; it says that a school, no school staff or no teacher, no one at the school can call a child by any other name besides their given name or common nicknames,” The Heritage Foundation’s Jason Bedrick recently said on the Grand Canyon Times Podcast. 

Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-Ariz.) vetoed SB 1001 on May 19 after it had passed the State Senate on March 1 on a vote of 16-12 (with two “not voting) and the State House May 15 on a vote of 31-27 (with one “not voting.”).