A California bill that has passed the state’s legislature and now awaits Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature would let minor children receive transgender surgeries without their parental consent.
The bill, SB 107,will give California courts “temporary emergency jurisdiction” over any minor child that travels to the state seeking transgender treatments – ranging from hormones to puberty blockers to dramatic and life changing surgeries – regardless of their state of origin or the circumstances of their visit to the state.
SB 107 was put forward by a Calif. Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat, was co-sponsored by Planned Parenthood, Equality California, and California’s current lieutenant governor, reports Decision Magazine, a Christian news outlet.
In a press release, Wiener explicitly told the public that his goal was to turn California into a “refuge state” for children seeking to run away from home with the goal of receiving transgender treatments or surgeries.
“SB 107 ensures that California is a refuge state for trans kids,” Wiener said, according to Decision’s reporting.
As states across the country jump to attack and discriminate against trans youth, California must remain a safe haven for anyone seeking gender-affirming healthcare.
Support SB 107! Lives depend on it. #ProtectTransYouth pic.twitter.com/HpiopBYxoa— Equality California (@eqca) September 15, 2022
Critics have warned that the law may violate the U.S. Constitution, and asserted that it clearly violates parental rights and public decency.
Jonathan Keller, president of the California Family Council, said the bill “is one of the gravest threats to parental rights in recent years” and warned that, should Newsom “foolishly” sign the bill into law, “California should brace for lawsuits” from Attorneys General serving in Republican states.
“It’s not hard to see how activists could quickly weaponize SB 107,” Keller warned.
“Since the bill instructs state agencies to ignore the circumstances of how a child came to the state for gender transitioning, SB 107 invites children to run away from their families or even be trafficked across state lines.
More viscerally, The American Conservative compared the possibility that Newsom might sign the bill to something that would by done by an enemy nation in a time of war.
Did you know that the Calif legislature passed a law that would empower the state to take custody of minors aged 15 and older, from any state, to sexually mutilate them over their parents' objection? On Gov. Newsom's desk. https://t.co/1kFUFpMXsF
— Rod Dreher (@roddreher) September 15, 2022
In an editorial article published under the website’s masthead, the outlet declared that “If the Russians were doing what California is on the verge of doing, we would be preparing to fire shots.”
“Understand what is being done here: if your minor child claims to be trans, and you decline to approve hormones and/or surgery,” the outlet explained, “all they have to go is get to the State of California, and the state will seize them.”
Unless Newsom vetoes the bill or officially signs it, SB 107 will automatically become law on September 30.
This latest bill may help Newsom’s attempt to create a feud between himself and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a popular Republican who Newsom recently challenged to a debate.
While Newsom may sign a law that allows the state to surgically modify runaway children in the name of gender bending politics, DeSantis’s administration has taken steps to end the instruction of politically motivated racial and LGBT curriculum in schools.
