Arizona
It’s still easier to view porn in Arizona than teach sex ed | Opinion
The age verification law passed by the Legislature only works if Arizona is providing meaningful instruction on human sexuality, which it isn’t.
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Earlier this week, Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a bill requiring websites and social media platforms that are more than a third pornography to verify that their users are at least 18 years old.
The sponsor of House Bill 2112, Republican Rep. Nick Kupper, said, “Arizona families have had enough. Hardcore pornography has been just one click away from kids for too long, and the companies behind it have looked the other way while cashing in. This law forces them to take responsibility and keeps minors off their platforms.”
All of that is a good thing.
Lawmakers in more than 20 states have passed age verification laws like this.
There are problems with them, however, in that they may have a hard time withstanding court challenges.
Porn should not be the only sex ed available
For instance, can a viewer’s privacy actually be protected? Is language like “material harmful to minors” too vague? Are there First Amendment issues?
When this bill and others like it were working their way through the Legislature, Marilyn Rodriguez, a lobbyist who works on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union, said, “State and local government codifying what is and isn’t explicit would immediately trigger First Amendment concerns. And almost certainly would be struck down in court.”
However, there is another, even more important problem that Arizona lawmakers have yet to solve.
For too long, online pornography has been the only sex education that many Arizona students have been able to access.
Under Arizona law, Arizona public schools are not required to teach sex education at any level, and there are no requirements to teach students about child assault awareness, sexually transmitted diseases or infections, dating abuse, abuse prevention and more.
An investigation by LOOKOUT, a nonprofit that covers Arizona’s LGBTQ+ community, found that thousands of Arizona students got no sex education at all, while others received a woefully inadequate form.
Arizona lawmakers are asking the wrong question
As it is, even in those schools with sex education classes, parents must agree to have their children participate.
In the past, a few Arizona lawmakers introduced bills that replace the state’s “opt-in” policy with an “opt-out” policy, as well as mandating that sex education to be both medically accurate and comprehensive. But those bills failed.
What that has left many students with is porn.
And while I agree with efforts to restrict access to those sites, I’d guess we all know that laws like this aren’t going to prevent our very clever young people from finding ways around firewalls.
Laws like the one the Legislature passed and Hobbs signed make grownups feel like they’re doing something.
But the real question we should be asking ourselves is: Do we want Arizona’s kids to learn about human sexuality from pornographers … or teachers?
Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.
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PAGE, AZ (AZFamily) — A person accused of making terroristic threats toward a northern Arizona medical facility was arrested Friday morning.
Just after 10:30 p.m., police received a report of a person calling the facility and threatening to kill staff and Native Americans, according to the Page Police Department.
Authorities said staff placed the facility on lockdown until officers identified the suspect and arrested them outside their home.
The suspect was booked on charges of disorderly conduct, threatening and intimidating, and making terroristic threats. Police have not publicly identified the person.
“The Page Police Department is grateful for and supports the medical staff’s decision to put the medical facility into lockdown until the suspect was arrested and the situation was rendered safe,” the department said in a Facebook post.
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In these four-round projections, the Arizona Cardinals don’t get a tackle until the fourth round.
We are just days away from the 2026 NFL draft, and that means some final mock drafts. What direction will the draft take the Arizona Cardinals?
Draft Wire’s Curt Popejoy put together a four-round mock draft for the Cardinals. They go defense early but rebuild the offense for 2026 and moving forward, including landing their potential franchise quarterback.
Cardinals 4-round mock draft
Here are the players in the first four rounds Popejoy projects for Arizona.
- Round 1: Ohio State EDGE/LB Arvell Reese
- Round 2: Alabama QB Ty Simpson
- Round 3: Clemson WR Antonio Williams
- Round 4: Florida OT Austin Barber
What we think of the picks
The Cardinals want to trade out of the third pick and draft a tackle, so not getting a tackle until Round 4 seems unlikely, although they did meet with Barber. They do have options at right tackle for 2026 already on the roster.
Reese would be a great pick if they don’t trade back, as they badly need pass-rushing help off the edge.
Drafting Simpson seems inevitable at this point, so it has to be in a mock draft, although the feeling is they will need to go up into Round 1 again to get him.
Williams has speed and is almost six feet tall, but he does have short arms.
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
Due to significant injuries to the CB position last year which includes a shoulder surgery for Terrion Arnold, the Lions CB position scored a 6/10 need on my Lions Defensive Draft Need Rankings. Thus, an early-round selection of a young, healthy prospect like Keith Abney would not come as a surprise. He enters the draft with very low medical concern level.
Here is the excerpt from my medical report on Keith Abney:
(Ages in parentheses are at start of 2026 season and are factored into the concern level. Injury info and ages based on available public information are unverified and subject to update. Games played data courtesy of sports-reference.com.)
Keith Abney, CB (21) – Arizona State
Projected round 2-3. #43 on Jeff Risdon board Feb 19.
Concern level 0/10
There is an isolated report of a hand injury but no corroborating information. Even if the hand injury is true, that’s of minimal to no long-term concern.
His availability in his final two seasons has been perfect. Overall, Abney appears to be medically clean and is at an excellent age.
He finished college with 6 INT and 21 PBU.
For more Lions coverage, follow us on X, @TheLionsWire, and give our Facebook page a like. Follow Jimmy on X, @JimmyLiaoMD
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