A coalition of more than 45 local and national policy and grassroots organizations sent an open letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom about SB 107, which is currently on Newson’s desk awaiting his signature.
The bill “ignores” the established authority of the other 49 states and violates the “fundamental rights of parents,” according to the letter sent to Newsom.
State Sen. Scott Wiener said the legislation will provide “refuge” in California for transgender kids and families from other states that are “criminalizing them, and MDs and threatening to remove trans children from their homes.”
The bill allows California courts to strip custody from parents — even if the parents do not live in California — who have legitimate concerns about a child undergoing irreversible medical procedures to appear as a different gender.
The coalition who wrote to Newsom has embraced the Promise to America’s Parents, which contains 10 principles for sound laws and policies which protect parental rights through government accountability, choice and transparency.
“SB 107 violates all of these principles and, as organizations dedicated to preserving the fundamental right of parents to direct the upbringing, education and health care of their children, we have several grave concerns with this law,” the letter states.
The law violates the “fundamental right of every parent in every state” to direct the upbringing and education of their child, according to the group. A child, under the bill, can be taken to California without parental knowledge or consent to obtain gender transition procedures. The letter states it “impermissibly” gives California courts the power to strip custody from lawful and well-intentioned parents.
Multiple sections of the bill mandate the “concealment of critical medical information” from parents about their child, the letter warns.
“Even if that information is sought under a subpoena. This undermines the constitutional rights of parents, and also likely violates the laws of many other states which recognize a parent’s right to access their child’s medical information.”
The bill unlawfully overrides the jurisdiction of courts in a family’s home state that are typically the “proper forum” for custody determinations, the letter claims.
It also entices minors across America to leave their families and run away in “pursuit of harmful drugs and sterilizing surgeries, all of which cause irreparable harm to the minds, bodies and family relationships of America’s precious children.”
The letter concludes by urging Newsom to “preserve the fundamental rights of parents and respect the jurisdiction of the States by vetoing SB 107.”
Parental Rights Iowa signed the letter.
