Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Arizona may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents.

Several cities, including Phoenix and Tucson, have enacted ordinances to protect LGBTQ people from unfair discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations.

[3] 2019 polling from the Public Religion Research Institute showed that 71% of Arizona residents supported non-discrimination legislation protecting LGBTQ people.

Nádleehi (Navajo: nádleeh or nádleehé; literally one who constantly transforms) refers to individuals who are a "male-bodied person with a feminine nature".

[4] (See also "LGBT rights in the Navajo Nation") The Tohono O'odham recognize the term wi:k’ovat, which refers to individuals who are assigned male at birth but act, dress and behave as female.

Other people groups recognize similar terms in reference to transgender people and gender variance; male-to-female individuals are hova among the Hopi, alyha among the Mohave, ilyaxai' among the Maricopa, tüwasawuts among the Southern Paiute, ndéʼsdzan among the Western Apache, elxa' among the Quechan, and elha among the Cocopah, whereas female-to-male individuals are hwame among the Mohave, kwiraxame' among the Maricopa, kwe'rhame among the Quechan, and warrhameh among the Cocopah.

The abominable vice will be eliminated to the extent that the Catholic faith and all the other virtues are firmly implanted there, for the glory of God and the benefits of these poor ignorants".

[8] Sodomy laws were first enacted after modern-day Arizona became part of the Spanish Empire, later joining the newly independent Mexico and finally the United States.

Two years later, however, Arizona voters approved a less restrictive Proposition 102 which amended the Constitution to ban the recognition of same-sex marriage.

With no constitutional ban on domestic partnerships or civil unions, several cities, including Phoenix, Bisbee, Tucson, Flagstaff and more, subsequently enacted such measures.

Basing their ruling on Obergefell v. Hodges and Pavan v. Smith, the court concluded that married same-sex couples have the right to list both their names on their child(ren)'s birth certificate(s).

[28] Then-Governor Janet Napolitano issued an executive order prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation against state employees.

[27] In March, Flagstaff's city council passed a civil rights ordinance that bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and military veteran status in the area of employment and public accommodations.

[30] In February, Tempe's city council approved, in a unanimous vote, an ordinance that bans discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations, with exceptions for religious groups and private clubs.

[31] During that same month, then-Governor Jan Brewer vetoed a "religious freedom" bill which would have granted any individual or legal entity an exemption from any state law if it substantially burdened their exercise of religion, widely reported as targeting LGBTQ people.

[33] In June, the Arizona Court of Appeals upheld Phoenix's anti-discrimination ordinance, after a legal challenge seeking to strike it down was filed in 2016.

[34] In November, Winslow's city council passed a nondiscrimination ordinance that bans discrimination on the basis of gender identity, sexual orientation, or familial status.

[35] In March, Mesa's city council approved a non-discrimination ordinance that bans discrimination in employment, housing and places of public accommodation based on, among other things, sexual orientation and gender identity.

[36] In April, Scottsdale's city council approved an anti-discrimination ordinance that offers protection for the LGBTQ+ community, with exemptions made for various entities, including religious organizations, under certain conditions.

[38] In May, Glendale passed a non-discrimination ordinance that bans discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodation in a unanimous vote.

In August 2024, a federal judge ordered that individuals who want to change their sex on a birth certificate - can legally do so without sexual reassignment surgery.

In 2019, several lawsuits commenced to try and "null and void" a government of Arizona policy that explicitly banned Medicaid coverage of sexual reassignment surgery and other gender-affirming healthcare and services.

[52][53] In November 2020, three families with transgender children filed a lawsuit against the Arizona Department of Health Services in federal court demanding the state agency allow them to change the legal gender on their birth certificate without needing to undergo sex reassignment surgery.

[71] On April 20, 2021, Arizona governor Doug Ducey vetoed bill SB1456,[72][73] which would have limited the teaching of sex education and other matters related to gender identification and sexuality only to students whose parents had opted in.

A 2017 Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) poll found that 63% of Arizona residents supported same-sex marriage, while 28% opposed it and 9% were unsure.