Among many new laws in California, one allows male prisoners to room and shower with female inmates if they say they are female. The bill, known as the Transgender Respect, Agency, and Decency Act, was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2020.
More recently, in September, a USA Today article said LGBT legislators were celebrating after Gov. Newsom signed several bills that “bolster” state protections for minors who identify as transgender. One bill requires public school staff to undergo “cultural competency training” and sets timelines for the training. A second bill requires families to affirm a child’s gender identity if they want to participate in the state’s foster care system.
Fake female spiked ball, hurt female volleyball playerBob Kellogg, AFN.net A female high school volleyball player had to quit for the rest of the season after suffering a concussion, which came from a fast-moving ball spiked by a teenage boy on the opposing team. The sports injury, which hurt a 17-year-old senior, occurred earlier this fall in California at Half Moon Bay High. The father of the teen girl told the media he noticed the male player when the game began because he seemed faster and stronger than the females on the floor. Soon afterward, his daughter was knocked down and suffered a concussion that was confirmed by a visit to a doctor. “I had heard about transgender in sports issues, bathroom gender identification politics, and trans groups reading to kids at school,” the father said. “Now it was directly hitting home.” Steve McConkey, an advocate for women’s-only sports, tells AFN he noticed in news reports the father remained anonymous out of fear the daughter would be punished for a parent who spoke out. “But parents have got to stand up and quit being afraid,” he says. “They need to stand up and say enough of this. If enough parents stand up, it'll stop." |
In a liberal state overrun with LGBT ideology, Greg Burt of the California Family Council tells AFN he still has hope. He points to a survey of 1,000 California voters, done in November, in which 72% defined a woman as someone who is “biologically born female.” In a second question, 62% said sex is binary, meaning people are either male or female.
'This should give courage to parents'
What might seem like common-sense answers to many people is not so common in uber-liberal California, where far-left Democrats not only dominate state government and big cities but also corporate offices and public schools. For a huge majority of those Californians to confirm basic biological facts, Burt insists, is a sign of encouragement.
“This should give courage to parents who are upset that their daughter is having to undress in front of a male because they're pretending – they’re identifying – as female,” he tells AFN. “Parents aren't speaking up in the volume, the numbers, because they think they're the only ones.”
On the issue of parental rights, the survey asked respondents if they agreed with the California school board that voted to notify parents if the school learns their child identifies as transgender. "Do you agree parents should be notified if their child identifies as transgender in school?" the survey asked.
According to the survey, 58% said they "strongly agree" and another 14% said "somewhat agree."
That school district policy was approved this year by Chino Valley Unified School District, which is being challenged in court by Robert Bonta, California's attorney general.
Conservative lawmakers must speak out
Burt and California Family Council say the survey was done with care to match California’s demographics, including the state’s Democrats. So the 1,000-person sample corresponded with 48% of Californians who identify as registered Democrats.
Burt, who personally knows conservative lawmakers through California Family Council, says the survey results should encourage them, too.
"I think that the conservative legislators are letting the liberal legislators get away with this,” he suggests. “They have not challenged them. They've not stood up. They've not spoken out publicly, and that empowers the other side."
A push too far for Newsom
The rainbow flag-waving army even went too far for Gov. Newsom, too. In the stack of LGBT-related bills he signed in September, the Democrat governor vetoed one that would have required a family court judge to consider a parent’s gender affirmation when ruling in child custody cases.
The backlash at Newsom’s veto was intense, however, and demonstrated what conservative parents, lawmakers, and school leaders face every day.
The veto was called a “tragedy for trans kids” by state Sen. Scott Weiner, a notorious homosexual lawmaker who co-sponsored the bill.
Lori Wilson, the bill’s author, complained the veto prevented California's family courts from providing a "safer, more dignified, and equitable world" for what she calls "TGI" youth, an LGBT term for transgender, gender-diverse, and intersex minors.
“My intent with this bill was to give them a voice, particularly in the family court system where a non-affirming parent could have a detrimental impact on the mental health and well-being of a child,” she said.
Burt, meanwhile, says he hopes Californians realize the bullying tactics make the other side sound louder and more powerful than they really are.
"This should give encouragement not only to legislators but also to parents and the citizens that they've got to speak up," he says. "Their views are actually the majority views."
