In a state where more than 1 million residents are Hispanic, and family plays a central role in daily life, recent moves by New Mexico lawmakers and education officials are raising red flags among parents – especially those who feel sidelined in life-changing decisions involving their children.
New Mexico’s new education standards introduce gender identity and sexual orientation as major themes in middle and high school curricula. One asks students to analyze “race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, differently abled, nationality, class, religion, reactions, and long-term effects of oppression.” Eighth graders are taught to “identify and analyze” perceptions of identity across race, gender, and politics – an academic framing that increasingly feels like an activist agenda.
These shifts are happening alongside a sweeping legal change. New Mexico’s expansion of the Human Rights Modernization Act (House Bill 207) prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations – including hotels, restaurants, and other public-facing businesses. It defines “sex” according to biology but also adds “gender” and “gender identity” as protected classes – essentially eviscerating sex-based rights.
The law also introduces ambiguity. While prisons are not considered public accommodations, housing facilities connected to public services may be. That opens the door for legal arguments that men who identify as women could request access to female-only spaces, including transitional housing. It’s unclear how far these protections extend – but many families are worried about what comes next.
And that concern shows up in the data. A recent survey of Hispanic voters in New Mexico voters shows that many feel that the state has already gone too far in advancing gender ideology and fast-tracked gender interventions for kids:
• 87% disagree that teachers or nurses should “transition children” without notifying parents.
• 86% reject allowing minors to undergo surgeries like mastectomies without consent.
• 82% oppose puberty blockers for kids with mental health issues when parents aren’t informed.
• 77% are concerned New Mexico law allows minors to begin lifelong treatments too quickly.
• And 54% say they would be more likely to support a lawmaker who stands against these interventions for minors.
These aren’t conservative talking points. They’re shared values. Across party lines, New Mexicans believe there are meaningful biological differences between men and women – and that those differences matter, especially when it comes to protecting privacy, safety and fairness.
Hispanic families in New Mexico, many of whom hold traditional views about gender, faith, and family roles, feel increasingly alienated. When schools create spaces like “transgender closets” – where students can change their name, clothes, and identity during the school day without their parents ever knowing – it sends a clear message: parents are not welcome.
Rachael Hein and her family had lived in New Mexico for nearly 20 years. But everything changed when she learned that her daughter’s high school in Las Cruces had accepted a $10,000 grant to install a transgender closet. Even more concerning to her, the program allowed students to request school-based healthcare without requiring parental involvement. “Please tell me this is a joke,” she thought. But it wasn’t.
That moment, combined with years of being ignored by school officials, led the Hein family to make a heart-wrenching decision: leave the state they loved to protect their kids.
Most families don’t have the option to leave. But they are speaking up.
Hispanic parents across New Mexico are demanding something basic: respect. Respect for their role as parents. Respect for the biological differences between men and women. Respect for the values that have sustained generations of families in this state.
New Mexico’s leaders should listen. We can protect people from discrimination without erasing reality, undermining parental rights, or putting kids on a path toward irreversible decisions.
Families – not government officials – should guide a child’s most important decisions.
Judy Pino is an advisor on Hispanic issues and spokesperson for Independent Women.
This article was originally published at www.thecentersquare.com
