Gender affirmation will become a factor in California child custody cases if Gov. Gavin Newsom signs new legislation into law.
If the bill, AB-957, is signed into law, a parent who disagrees with their child seeking social transitioning or gender transition procedures could lose custody of the child and face child abuse charges.
Newsom, who has been supportive of transgender students, is expected to sign the bill into law.
The legislation is one of five bills passed by one or both houses of the California legislature with the aim of both hiding childhood proclamations of transgender identity from parents and punishing parents for not "affirming" the child through social and medical interventions.
"Parents are caught in a terrible predicament as they are told their children will commit suicide unless they support gender transition. This is false and is now being propagated by the state of California," Do No Harm Chairman Dr. Stanley Goldfarb told the Washington Examiner.
"Instead of providing emotional and psychological support for these troubled children and these desperate parents, the state is putting them in legal jeopardy and risking further alienation from their children. It's hard to believe this is happening in America."
Four of the five bills have sailed through both of California's Democrat-led legislative chambers. One has passed the Senate and awaits Assembly approval.
"Is it the role of parents to affirm children? Or is it their role to guide and shape them into becoming good, honest, and healthy people? Since when do children know what's best for them?" American Principles Project President Terry Schilling told the Examiner.
"Parents are to affirm their children when they are right and correct them when they are wrong. If your son claims to be a girl, your job as a parent is to correct them, not affirm them in this delusion anymore than affirming an underweight anorexic child is obese."
AB-665 allows minors to seek "mental health services" without their parents' knowledge or consent. It also allows for the removal of children ages 12 and older from their parents' home without a court order.
AB-5, named the Safe and Supportive Schools Act, requires school teachers to be trained to identify parents who may not agree with a child's stated gender identity.
AB-1078 would ensure childhood access to sexually explicit materials in schools.
SB-407 would require parents who wish to adopt children in California to align their beliefs with transgender ideology. The bill has not yet passed the state Assembly.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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