On Friday, the California State Assembly approved a bill that would order judges in custody cases to consider whether or not parents have affirmed their child's gender.
According to Fox News, the legislation, AB 957, was amended in June to require parents to affirm their child's gender identity to be considered adequate providers for "the health, safety, and welfare of the child" in a court of law.
The news of the bill sparked an outcry from multiple commentators on X, the social media app formerly called Twitter.
"This bill is a wolf in sheep's clothing. What it actually means is that if you disagree with the other parent about sterilizing your child, you lose custody," tweeted tech entrepreneur and Tesla founder Elon Musk. "Utter madness!"
Chloe Cole, a former transitioner, has often argued in court against the usage of gender-altering treatment on minors as she once received at 13 years old.
"This issue is wildly unpopular, yet the Cali Gov pushes forward with more and more radical policies," she wrote. "@ProtectKidsCA is trying to introduce ballot measures that will stop the sterilization of kids in California."
"Time for families to get out of California," wrote Daily Signal senior reporter Mary Margaret Olohana.
On Friday, California state Rep. Lori Wilson (D), who introduced the bill along with California state Sen. Scott Wiener, stated her case in favor of the bill.
"Parents affirm their children, they have since the dawn of time. Typically, it happens when their gender identity matches their biological gender," she said.
"But what happens is, when it doesn't, that's when the affirmation starts to wane," she added, later stressing the bill's goal of affirming a child's desired gender "whatever it is," and declaring, "our duty as parents is to affirm our children."
Wilson, who issued a statement on the bill's passage, said, "The California Family Code is intended to center the best interest of the child in all decisions about visitation and custody. However, the Family Code currently fails to take into account this very vulnerable population of TGI (Transgender, Gender-Diverse and Intersex) children who are at increased risk of family rejection.
"LGBTQ+ youth learn to value and care about themselves when they are valued by their parents and family1. The TGI Youth Empowerment Act will provide affirming parents the support they need from family court to continue to love and affirm their diverse TGI children."
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Nicky Ebbage
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
