Arizona governor sidesteps question on whether transgender people exist

metroweekly.com:

NBC News.“I’m going to ask you to read the legislation and to see that the legislation that we passed was in the spirit of fairness to protect girls sports in competitive situations,” Ducey said, referring to the transgender sports ban. “That’s what the legislation is intended to do, and that’s what it does.”Reporters then asked the governor if he believed there are “actual transgender people,” to which he responded: “I…am going to respect everyone, and I’m going to respect everyone’s rights.

And I’m going to protect female sports. And that’s what the legislation does.”Bridget Sharpe, the Arizona state director for the Human Rights Campaign, which had testified against the bills when they were considered by the Legislature, called Ducey’s reply “appalling.”“It’s quite shocking that he can’t even address trans people or even say that he thinks they exist,” Sharpe said.Ducey has previously claimed that the ban on surgery is necessary to prevent minors from making decisions that they may later regret, such as undergoing irreversible surgery that could affect an individual’s ability “to become a biological parent later in life.”Ducey signed the two transgender bills along with other legislation favored by Arizona Republicans, including a measure that bans abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy and election legislation that requires longtime Arizonans to provide proof of citizenship and that they live in Arizona or risk being thrown off voter rolls.